Ileana Streinu, Smith College

Abstract

I will present a tutorial on rigidity theory for bar-and-joint frameworks with a focus on flexible structures, both finite and periodic. I will cover generic properties captured by combinatorial descriptors, infinitesimal and continuous deformations, and how to design flexible structures with special kinds of trajectories, such as those that avoid singularities, expand all distances or, in crystals, just the unit cells. Along the way, applications in robotics, structural molecular biology and materials science will be described.

Video