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SUMMARY:Structures Seminars – Dr Jiajia Shen (Exeter): Deform-philic Stru
 ctures and Materials: Exploiting Controlled Large Deformations for Novel F
 unctionality
DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\nIn traditional engineering design\, deformation is t
 ypically viewed as a sign of weakness or a precursor to failure. In recent
  years\, however\, a paradigm shift has occurred: controlled deformation i
 s now being embraced as a powerful and enabling design feature. This new p
 hilosophy\, termed “deform-philia”\, underpins the development of many
  smart materials and structures that harness large\, often reversible\, de
 formations to achieve novel functionalities.\nIn this talk\, I will presen
 t recent examples of deform-philic structures and materials from my resear
 ch\, including:\n• a recoverable\, energy-dissipative metamaterial based
  on negative-stiffness unit cells\;\n• a crawling robot that utilises mo
 de jumping between post-buckling states in a lattice structure\;\n• a la
 tticed auxetic sheet that harnesses tensile buckling for programmable shap
 e morphing\; and\n• 4D printing of thermoplastics enabled by the control
 led development of layer-wise shrinkage.\nAlthough large deformations unlo
 ck remarkable new capabilities\, they also introduce substantial challenge
 s in modelling\, analysis\, and experimental characterisation. I will disc
 uss how our group addresses these issues through the development of advanc
 ed bifurcation-tracking techniques within commercial finite-element platfo
 rms\, as well as custom-designed experimental rigs capable of capturing co
 mplex post-buckling behaviours.\nCollectively\, these efforts seek to esta
 blish a unified framework for understanding\, designing\, and exploiting l
 arge deformation — transforming what was once considered mechanical fail
 ure into a rich source of innovation.\nBio:\nDr Jiajia Shen is a Lecturer 
 in Nonlinear Mechanics of Structures and Materials in the Department of En
 gineering at the University of Exeter. His research focuses on nonlinear s
 tructural mechanics and their innovative applications. He obtained his PhD
  in Nonlinear Structural Mechanics from Imperial College London in 2018 un
 der the supervision of Prof Ahmer Wadee and Dr Adam Jan Sadowski\, followi
 ng an MEng in Structural Engineering and a BSc in Civil Engineering from Z
 hejiang University in China. He serves on the Editorial Board of Thin-Wall
 ed Structures and is a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College. He has als
 o acted as a reviewer and assessor for major UK funding schemes\, includin
 g the Royal Academy of Engineering Green Future Fellowships and the Royce 
 Industrial Collaboration Programme. He has secured more than £460k in res
 earch funding as PI or Co-I (net contribution).\n \nOpen to all. Attendee
 s external to Imperial need to register by email. \nTime: 12:00  
URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/210926/structures-seminars-dr-jiajia-
 shen-exeter-deform-philic-structures-and-materials-exploiting-controlled-l
 arge-deformations-for-novel-functionality/
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260701T120000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260701T130000
LOCATION:SKEM 207\, Skempton Building\, South Kensington Campus\, Imperial 
 College London\, London\, SW7 2AZ\, United Kingdom
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