The Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics (Cerecam) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, invites applications for a post-doctoral fellowship in nonlinear computational mechanics. Further information about the position may be obtained from Professor
Daya Reddy (daya.reddy [at] uct.ac.za).

A post-doctoral position is available in the Dept. of Chemical Engineering at the
University of Pittsburgh to conduct experimental research on developing
"morphing surfaces" that change topology by developing features such
as bumps, folds, spikes, etc. The post-doctoral fellow will develop (1)
surfaces that undergo a change in topology in response to applied stimuli, (2)
methods to control the shape and location of the morphing features on the
surface, and (3) quantitative or heuristic models to guide the design of
texture-changing surfaces.

The Duke Soft Active Materials Laboratory directed by Prof Xuanhe Zhao is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to study mechanics of polymers and hydrogels with applications in tissue regenerations. The work will be carried out in close collaboration with the Duke Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory directed by Prof Farshid Guilak.

One of the major concerns for composite material is it’s durability in final form. The size of particles that form the strengthening additive can drastically affect the overall final performance of the composite material. By using the nano scratch testing method the failure of composite material can be compared to identify the most durable formula.

We have recently added the ADINA Electromagnetics module (ADINA-EM) to our wide range of multiphysics offerings. Using this module, the general Maxwell's equations can be effectively solved and the resulting electric and magnetic fields can be coupled to the fluid flow. For details please see:

http://www.adina.com/adina-electromagnetics.shtml

For an overview of other multiphysics capabilities of ADINA please refer to: 

Rodney Hill was born on 11 June 1921.  He was a Reader, then Professor, in The Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), of The University of Cambridge, during the period 1969-1979. He is widely regarded as among the foremost contributors to the foundations of solid mechanics over the second half of the 20th century. He was author of 'The Mathematical Theory of Plasticity' published in 1950.

Eurotel Victoria, Les Diablerets, Switzerland 11-15 September 2011

For more information, go to www.tc4pca.elsevier.com

Every year I try to get funding for things that I'm personally interested in but which may not have any immediate economic benefits.  A couple of years ago, after reading Penrose's "Road to Reality", I thought about applying Clifford algebra ideas to fracture mechanics and wrote up a proposal to that effect.  The proposal wasn't funded, but I think the idea is worth exploring.

The summary of the proposal was