Shape control and programmable morphing: applications to biological and bio-inspired motility

In recent years, we have studied morphing and shape control problems in the context of motility of biological systems and locomotion of robotic systems. Our aim is to distil lessons useful for the design of innovative and bio-inspired medical and devices. The tools used for this purpose include theoretical/computational mechanics of solids and fluids, physical experimentation and manufacturing of prototypes, and observations at the microscope in the case of unicellular swimmers.

Some of the insights that have emerged from this research line are reviewed in this talk, with special emphasis on unicellular swimmers, both flagellates and ciliates, and on attempts to produce bio-inspired artifacts mimicking their capabilities using active materials such as liquid crystal elastomers. As examples of applications, we discuss fabrication and modelling of LCE-based fiber arrays realizing artificial active cilia carpets [1] and light-powered LCE-based medusoid swimmers [2], see Figure 1 below.

Speaker: Prof. Antonio DeSimone

Biography: Prof. Antonio DeSimone is a professor of Structural Mechanics at SISSA in Trieste and the BioRobotics Institute at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa. His research interests span a wide range of topics, including the mechanics of materials, micromagnetics, systems biology, and the calculus of variations. He has held numerous visiting research appointments, including positions at the University of Minnesota, Université Paris XIII, the Joliot-Curie Chair at ESPCI Paris, the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications in Minneapolis, and the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge. In recognition of his contributions to the mathematical sciences, he was awarded the Keith Medal in 2006.