Northwestern Events Calendar

May
30
2024

Complex Systems Seminar: Joseph Paulsen: "The Interplay of Gross and Fine Features inFlexible Sheets"

When: Thursday, May 30, 2024
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CT

Where: Technological Institute, F160, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 map it

Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students

Contact: Joan West   (847) 491-3645

Group: Physics and Astronomy Complex Systems Seminars

Category: Academic

Description:

Although thin films are typically manufactured in planar sheets or rolls, they are often forced into three-dimensional shapes, producing a plethora of structures across multiple length scales [1]. A key challenge is to understand the overall gross shape that is selected, and how it constrains the fine features, such as wrinkles, crumples, or creases. Here, we study a thin-membraned balloon as a prototypical system. We discover a surprising simplicity: the complex three-dimensional shape can be predicted by modeling each of its cross-sections as a string in an effective confining potential [2]. Our results establish a route to combine global and local features consistently over an enclosed surface, which could aid the design of inflatable structures, or provide insight into biological patterns.

[1] Paulsen, Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics vol. 10, 431 (2019).
[2] He, Démery, & Paulsen, PNAS 120, e2216786120 (2023).

Joseph Paulsen, Associate Professor, Syracuse University

Host: Michelle Driscoll

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