Biological Systems and Materials

TD Focus:
Investigations, including experimental, of biological and biologically inspired materials and systems, with an emphasis on structure, property and process relationships.

Technical Division Bylaws

Biological Systems and Materials Division - Updated May 2011

TD Focus:

Research and analysis of how mechanical loads interact with the structure, properties and function of living organisms and their tissues.

The Biological Systems and Materials Division has been focusing on embracing and serving the duality of its membership, which consists of many established members of the society and the field of theoretical and applied mechanics who are developing research programs focusing on biological systems and materials, as well as numerous researchers from the biological sciences who are adopting the experimental and analytical techniques of mechanics. 

TD Activities:

2010 Sessions Organized: The Biological Systems and Materials TD organized 10 sessions, either singly or jointly, for the 2010 SEM Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. These sessions were organized in 2 tracks, Track 3: Application of Imaging Techniques to Mechanics of Materials and Structures and the general Track 4: Experimental and Applied Mechanics. Topics included mechanics of hard and soft biological and bio-inspired materials, small-scale testing of biological tissues, bio-composites, imaging for biological systems and materials, and fracture/fatigue. There were at least 43 bio-related talks presented at the 2010 meeting.  These sessions also includes a keynote presentation, “Measurement of Brain Mechanics in Vivo by MR Imaging” by Dr. Philip Bayly. 

2010 TD Awards: At the annual meeting the TD awarded the Best Student Paper to Eric Clayton of Washington University for his paper titled “Magnetic Resonance Elastography of the Mouse Vitreous Humor In Vivo” and the Best Paper to Sharlotte Kramer of the University of Illinois for her paper titled “Characterization of Mechanochemically Active Polymers Using Combined Photoelasticity and Fluorescence Measurements.”

New Annual Symposium Organized: The strong attendance at previous TD meetings prompted the TD to propose an annual symposium starting at the 2011 Annual meeting.  The symposium title is “1st International Symposium on the Mechanics of Biological Systems and Materials.”  The symposium is aimed at providing a forum to foster the exchange of ideas and information among scientists and engineers involved in the research and analysis of how mechanical loads interact with the structure, properties and function of living organisms and their tissues.  The scope includes experimental, imaging, numerical and mathematical techniques and tools spanning various length and time scales.  By establishing this symposium at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Experimental Mechanics we aim to provide a venue where state-of-the-art experimental methods can be leveraged in the study of biomechanics.  A major goal of the symposium is for participants to collaborate in the asking of fundamental questions and the development new techniques to address bio-inspired problems in society, human health, and the natural world.  The symposium is finalized and composed of 13 sessions with a total of 67 papers and are detailed below.

The symposium has three keynote speakers and will award best paper awards at the student and researcher levels.  The three keynote talks are:

“Turning Weakness to Strength,” M.J. Buehler, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“Chemomechanics of Cell Deformation in the Attached and Suspended States,” K.J. Van Vliet, J.M. Maloney, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“Adaptive Hybrid Control for Low Resolution Feedback Systems With Application on a Novel Microinjector: Ros-drill,” N. Olgac, University of Connecticut