Colloquium | Scott David Kelly, Geometric Mechanics in Aquatic Locomotion and Particle Manipulation

The formalism of analytical mechanics on manifolds provides a natural setting in which to develop idealized models for systems comprising dynamically coupled bodies and fluids and facilitates the application of tools from dynamical systems theory and geometric nonlinear control to such models. Locomotion in fluids at the extremes of ideal flow and Stokes flow, for instance, may be described entirely in terms of geometric phases regulated by conservation laws derived from symmetries, while mechanisms for propulsive vortex shedding at intermediate Reynolds numbers may be framed in terms of integrable and nonintegrable velocity constraints. Models for the contact-free manipulation of fluid-borne particles via boundary actuation admit a similar perspective, and problems in the bulk transport and sorting of microparticles in water using vibrating cilia may be understood in terms of the regulation of bifurcation phenomena. This talk will describe theoretical, computational, and experimental research pertaining to biologically inspired systems for locomotion and particle manipulation in fluids with an emphasis on dynamic reduction, symmetry breaking, and related concepts.

Scott David Kelly holds a BS in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and an MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He worked as a research engineer in Biological Systems Modeling at Entelos, Inc. and as a faculty member in Mechanical Science & Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining the department of Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Science at UNC Charlotte in 2007. Professor Kelly's research interests include analytical mechanics, nonlinear dynamics and control, differential geometry, robotics, and systems biology. He received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2005 and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2006. He’s served as director of graduate programs for his department and as president of the Southeastern Atlantic Section of SIAM.

Wine and Cheese Reception to follow in MC 6496