Mingchao Liu
@mingchaoliu.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @ University of Birmingham
🍂 New paper (JMPS, OA): Midveins control how drying leaves curl/fold.
Soft lamina shrinks; stiff vein resists → stress → 3D shapes.
Nonlinear, non-Euclidean mechanics—and bioinspiration for morphable materials.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jm...
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
#Leaf #Mechanics #Biomimetics
Soft lamina shrinks; stiff vein resists → stress → 3D shapes.
Nonlinear, non-Euclidean mechanics—and bioinspiration for morphable materials.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jm...
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
#Leaf #Mechanics #Biomimetics
October 27, 2025 at 12:42 PM
🍂 New paper (JMPS, OA): Midveins control how drying leaves curl/fold.
Soft lamina shrinks; stiff vein resists → stress → 3D shapes.
Nonlinear, non-Euclidean mechanics—and bioinspiration for morphable materials.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jm...
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
#Leaf #Mechanics #Biomimetics
Soft lamina shrinks; stiff vein resists → stress → 3D shapes.
Nonlinear, non-Euclidean mechanics—and bioinspiration for morphable materials.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jm...
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
#Leaf #Mechanics #Biomimetics
Glad to be part of this exciting project!
One day in the lab, we accidentally discovered that the spines of a cactus 🌵 straighten when exposed to fog. I was intrigued and so were my collaborators. How does this work and what can be gained from it? Here are some of the answers in our new preprint:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
October 10, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Glad to be part of this exciting project!
🚀 Our tutorial on simulating nonlinear behaviors of flexible structures with the Discrete Differential Geometry (DDG) method is out in Applied Mechanics Reviews (ASME)!
📖 doi.org/10.1115/1.40...
🛠️ Code & demos: www.ddgflexsim.com
📰 UoB news: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/co...
📖 doi.org/10.1115/1.40...
🛠️ Code & demos: www.ddgflexsim.com
📰 UoB news: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/co...
A tutorial on simulating nonlinear behaviors of flexible structures with the discrete differential geometry (DDG) method
Abstract. Flexible elastic structures, such as beams, rods, ribbons, plates, and shells, exhibit complex nonlinear dynamical behaviors that are central to a wide range of engineering and scientific ap...
doi.org
July 17, 2025 at 10:29 AM
🚀 Our tutorial on simulating nonlinear behaviors of flexible structures with the Discrete Differential Geometry (DDG) method is out in Applied Mechanics Reviews (ASME)!
📖 doi.org/10.1115/1.40...
🛠️ Code & demos: www.ddgflexsim.com
📰 UoB news: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/co...
📖 doi.org/10.1115/1.40...
🛠️ Code & demos: www.ddgflexsim.com
📰 UoB news: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/co...
It was a great honour to receive the 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆-𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 at the
@unibirmingham.bsky.social 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: birmingham.ac.uk/events/found...
Grateful for all the support from everyone!
@unibirmingham.bsky.social 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: birmingham.ac.uk/events/found...
Grateful for all the support from everyone!
July 4, 2025 at 4:03 PM
It was a great honour to receive the 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆-𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 at the
@unibirmingham.bsky.social 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: birmingham.ac.uk/events/found...
Grateful for all the support from everyone!
@unibirmingham.bsky.social 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: birmingham.ac.uk/events/found...
Grateful for all the support from everyone!
🚀 New in JMPS!
Real-time navigation control of magnetic soft continuum robots (MSCRs) in confined lumens! 🧲🩺
✅ Hard-magnetic elastic rod + DDG + contact
✅ Real-time inverse design of magnetic fields
A step closer to clinical translation!
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jm...
Real-time navigation control of magnetic soft continuum robots (MSCRs) in confined lumens! 🧲🩺
✅ Hard-magnetic elastic rod + DDG + contact
✅ Real-time inverse design of magnetic fields
A step closer to clinical translation!
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jm...
June 9, 2025 at 10:05 AM
🚀 New in JMPS!
Real-time navigation control of magnetic soft continuum robots (MSCRs) in confined lumens! 🧲🩺
✅ Hard-magnetic elastic rod + DDG + contact
✅ Real-time inverse design of magnetic fields
A step closer to clinical translation!
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jm...
Real-time navigation control of magnetic soft continuum robots (MSCRs) in confined lumens! 🧲🩺
✅ Hard-magnetic elastic rod + DDG + contact
✅ Real-time inverse design of magnetic fields
A step closer to clinical translation!
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.jm...
Grateful to have wrapped up an amazing week in Changsha last week — reconnecting with old friends, mentors, and making new ones. Honored to receive the #ICCES_Outstanding_Young_Researcher_Award!
Thanks for all the memories and inspiring conversations — onward! 🚀
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
Thanks for all the memories and inspiring conversations — onward! 🚀
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
June 3, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Grateful to have wrapped up an amazing week in Changsha last week — reconnecting with old friends, mentors, and making new ones. Honored to receive the #ICCES_Outstanding_Young_Researcher_Award!
Thanks for all the memories and inspiring conversations — onward! 🚀
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
Thanks for all the memories and inspiring conversations — onward! 🚀
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
Honoured to be Highly Commended for #Outstanding_Impact_by_an_Early_Career_Researcher at the
@unibirmingham.bsky.social Research Impact Awards 2025!
Grateful for the support of my collaborators and students.
Excited to keep pushing the boundaries of mechanics & robotic metamaterials.
@unibirmingham.bsky.social Research Impact Awards 2025!
Grateful for the support of my collaborators and students.
Excited to keep pushing the boundaries of mechanics & robotic metamaterials.
May 16, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Honoured to be Highly Commended for #Outstanding_Impact_by_an_Early_Career_Researcher at the
@unibirmingham.bsky.social Research Impact Awards 2025!
Grateful for the support of my collaborators and students.
Excited to keep pushing the boundaries of mechanics & robotic metamaterials.
@unibirmingham.bsky.social Research Impact Awards 2025!
Grateful for the support of my collaborators and students.
Excited to keep pushing the boundaries of mechanics & robotic metamaterials.
Reposted by Mingchao Liu
Buckling normally happens when you compress something slender, but 'tug' on a piece of crumpled paper at two points and it also buckles. Read more about how this "localized-TUG folding" occurs in many systems at: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2423439122
May 12, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Buckling normally happens when you compress something slender, but 'tug' on a piece of crumpled paper at two points and it also buckles. Read more about how this "localized-TUG folding" occurs in many systems at: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2423439122
Published this week in @pnas.org:
A thin sheet folds deeply from a small, localized pull.
No patterning, no compression — just geometry.
We call it #TUG_Folding — a new instability with α ∝ ε³⁄⁴.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2423439122
@mathobservatory.bsky.social
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
A thin sheet folds deeply from a small, localized pull.
No patterning, no compression — just geometry.
We call it #TUG_Folding — a new instability with α ∝ ε³⁄⁴.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2423439122
@mathobservatory.bsky.social
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
May 14, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Published this week in @pnas.org:
A thin sheet folds deeply from a small, localized pull.
No patterning, no compression — just geometry.
We call it #TUG_Folding — a new instability with α ∝ ε³⁄⁴.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2423439122
@mathobservatory.bsky.social
@unibirmingham.bsky.social
A thin sheet folds deeply from a small, localized pull.
No patterning, no compression — just geometry.
We call it #TUG_Folding — a new instability with α ∝ ε³⁄⁴.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2423439122
@mathobservatory.bsky.social
@unibirmingham.bsky.social