January 07, 2021
Trans-Disciplinary Team Investigates Topological Defects
Researchers from the College of Engineering and Mellon College of Sciences have received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Growing Convergence Research (GCR) grant to investigate a ubiquitous phenomenon impacting an array of disciplines ranging from mechanics and materials science, to seismology, to even string theory.
Led by Amit Acharya, a professor of civil and environmental engineering Opens in new window (CEE), the project will create a mathematical and conceptual framework to describe the phenomenon that occurs when two uniform patterns in organized matter (a jet turbine blade, the earth’s crust, a galaxy, etc.) are offset from one another, rotated differently, or otherwise have some form of deformation in the surface at which they meet. The string or curve created where the joining surface ends is called a topological line defect, and depending on the situation and material, its effects can range