INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
ON NONSMOOTH/NONCONVEX MECHANICS



June 27-30, 1999
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA. Blacksburg, Virginia USA





Nonsmooth mechanics and nonconvex optimization have experienced significant development in the last decade. Many problems arising in finite deformation theory, hysteresis and phase transitions, composite and smart materials, frictional contact mechanics, constrained variational problems, post-bifurcation and stability analysis, optimal control and design of nonlinear systems, ..., require the consideration of nonconvexity and nondifferentiablity for their total potentials and mechanical modelings. The field of nonconvex/nonsmooth mechanics involves a powerful combination of theoretical analysis in mathematical modelling of natural systems, nonlinear optimization and variational principles, numerical methods and algorithms, software development and scientific computing. The application of this field to engineering mechanics has proven to be an exciting and fruitful endeavor. The practical scope and utility of nonsmooth/nonconvex
mechanics continues to grow.

The International Symposium on Nonsmooth/Nonconvex Mechanics will address the most important recent advances in theoretical mechanics and computational mechanics. It will feature the latest research in constitutive modeling, primal-dual variational principles, nonlinear optimization and algorithms, numerical methods and software for the solution of engineering problems.

The meeting will bring together the theoretical analysts who build the theory and the scientists who use it. The gathering will provide an excellent opportunity for sharing ideas and problems and increase communication between the applied mathematicians and engineers.

The symposium is dedicated to the memory of Professor P.D. Panagiotopoulos, a pioneer researcher who made many fundamental contributions to the nonsmooth/nonconvex mechanics. The symposium will be held jointly with the 1999 ASME Mechanics \& Materials Conference, with overlapping sessions planned to encourage interaction among participants of both meetings.




CONFERENCE THEMES:


The themes of the 1999 symposium include, but are no limited to:

Principal Themes



1 Recent advances in the theory and modelling of nonsmooth/nonconvex mechanics
2 Variational techniques and primal-dual methods
3 Numerical methods and algorithms

Applications in:


1 Finite deformation elastoplasticity, hysteresis and phase transitions, frecture and penetrations
2 Nonlinear/nonsmooth dynamical systems, structural optimization and control
3 Stability and post-buckling analysis, composite materials and contact mechanics.

FORMAT FOR ABSTRACTS:


Abstracts should be typed, single spaced on 8.5 X 11 white sheet with 1 inch margin on all four sides. The title (16 point, bold) should be followed by a single space, authors names (12 point, bold), their affiliations (12 point) (complete address should be included so that interested persons can contact the authors by mail, or e-mail), a single space and then the text of the abstract in single space and 12 point. It will be preferable to include line drawings rather than complex or more involved figures in the abstract.

THE ABSTRACT MUST NOT EXCEED ONE-PAGE; ELSE ONLY THE FIRST PAGE WILL APPEAR IN THE BOOK OF ABSTRACTS.





SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZERS:



David Y. Gao

Department of Mathematics
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA24061, USA
Tel: 540-231-2768;
Fax: 540-231-5960
e-mail: gao@math.vt.edu


Ray W. Ogden


Department of Mathematics
University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 8QW, UK
Tel: 0141-330-4550;
Fax: 0141-330-4111
e-mail: rwo@maths.ac.uk

Georgios E. Stavroulakis


Institute for Applied Mechanics
Tech. Univ. Braunschweig
Braunschweig, Germany
Tel: ++ 49 531 391 7107
Fax: ++ (49)531-391-5843
e-mail: g.stavroulakis@tu-bs.de


IMPORTANT DATES:


15 January 1999 (Submission of Abstracts)
28 February 1999 (Acceptance/Declination Letters mailed)
31 March 1999 (Preliminary Program mailed)
15 May 1999 (Registration deadline for reduced registration fee)
27-30 June 1999 (Conference Program)



ON-LINE INFORMATION about 1999 International Symposium on Nonsmooth/Nonconvex
Mechanics is available at the website
http://www.math.vt.edu/people/gao/sym99.html