This grant provides support for the workshop entitled "Computational Mechanics Vision and Future Challenges", to be held on October 31-November 1, 2019 at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Computational mechanics is a diverse field with different methodologies and techniques that are used to solve fundamental and important problems in various application areas. Because of the constant need for predictive computational modeling in both established and newly emerging research fields, computational mechanics plays a key role in many future scientific developments. However, it faces new challenges and opportunities from the rise to prominence of artificial intelligence, complex infrastructure, additive manufacturing as well as a newly urgent focus on health. This has created a significant need to identify the future challenges and research and educational opportunities facing the computational mechanics community in these areas. The objective of this workshop is to solicit and synthesize directions for computational mechanics research and education in the United States over the next decade and beyond. Funding from this grant will support planning activities, production of a report, and travel of invited participants.
In this one-and-a-half-day workshop, leading experts across a wide cross-section of the computational mechanics community will convene in an interactive setting to discuss ways to address emerging challenges in the areas of data-driven modeling/machine learning, additive manufacturing, risk and uncertainty-based engineering, and medicine. We will ensure the participation of a diverse audience through various means, including specifically targeting women and underrepresented minorities and early career professionals, along with mid-career and senior faculty and representatives from industry and government, such that all stakeholders participate in the future directions of the computational mechanics community. The product of the workshop will be a report with recommendations for NSF and the larger computational mechanics field, which will be widely disseminated across the spectrum of academia, government, and industry.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
