Geometric Mechanics in Aquatic Locomotion and Particle Manipulation

Scott David Kelly
Department of Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Science
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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 received
a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2005 and a Presidential
Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2006. He has
recently served as director of graduate programs for his department and
as president of the Southeastern Atlantic Section of SIAM, and in 2014
received his college’s annual Graduate Teaching Award.