The ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress (IMECE 2008) will be held on October 31 - November 6, 2008, in Boston, Massachusetts. http://www.asmeconferences.org/Congress08/. A wide range of mechanics-related symposia (topics) are being organized in Track 12 Mechanics of Solids, Structures and Fluids. The Executive Committee of the ASME Applied Mechanics Division (AMD) believes that this track will provide a good platform for mechanics-related presentations.

I am looking for material model of Kevlar composite for Ballistic impact simulation. Presently i am using ANSYS. Can any body suggest material model for kevlar composite for fracture and penetration phenomina.

Helix is a very interesting structure. There are many biopolymers that have a helical structure. 

• How can someone model the helix in mechanics?
• How can the helix reinforce a rod? 
• How does this structure reflect the mechanical properties of biopolymers?

We have an immediate opening in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics for a postdoctoral research associate in multiscale modeling and computational mechanics. The focus of this position is on the modeling, simulation, and analysis of the nonlinear evolution of coupled macro/microstructure in failure processes, with an emphasis toward structural health monitoring. Coupled-field models using continuum damage variables will be used to study the fundamental spatiotemporal features of damage evolution, particularly regarding the nature and origin of unpredictability in damage processes. The candidate must have a solid general background in theoretical mechanics and dynamics, and be familiar with nonlinear finite element analysis

The person in this position will be responsible for developing finite element-based soft tissue representations that supportreal-time interaction with surgical tools. The successful candidate should befamiliar with the extensive prior work in the field of surgical simulationincluding finite element formulations (both traditional nonlinear approaches aswell as various real-time approximations), real-time collision detection andresponse between rigid and deformable objects, multi-processor/coreimplementations, and integration with haptics devices.

A symposium on "Defects in materials: Theory and Applications" is being organized at the 2008 ASME conference in Boston (Oct 31-Nov6). To submitt abstracts to this symposium choose Track 12-4 (Track 12, topic 4). The abstract submission deadline is March 3, 2008. Below is the description and scope of the symposium: