MECH Seminar Series Presents: Katia Bertoldi

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Shaping Interactions: Flexible Structures for Friction, Aerodynamics, and Contact-Guided Motion

Flexible structures engage with their surroundings through rich mechanical interactions that can be harnessed to control forces, regulate transport, and direct motion. This talk explores how geometry, deformation, and contact can be engineered to shape these interactions across a range of physical systems.

First, we investigate how surface ridges can be used to tune friction, revealing how surface geometry and deformation govern contact conditions and interfacial forces. Next, we explore dimpled textile structures for aerodynamic control, demonstrating how tailored surface topography can modify airflow and offer new strategies for drag management. Finally, we introduce mechanical metamaterials that exploit contact, deformation, and structural reconfiguration to guide robotic navigation, enabling motion

to be directed through physical interactions with the environment.

Together, these examples illustrate how flexible structures can transform interactions with their surroundings into a design resource, opening new possibilities for controlling friction, shaping aerodynamic performance, and guiding motion through mechanics.