Symposium

Smart Materials & Structures

Chair: Marcelo A. Savi (UFRJ)

Smart materials and structures are inspired in nature and try to mimic adaptive
characteristics of natural systems. Nowadays, several fields of sciences and technology
are exploring the remarkable properties of smart systems and structures including
bioengineering, aerospace engineering, robotics and vibration control.

Smart systems and structures use smart materials as sensors and actuators. In general
there are four major groups of smart materials: piezoelectric, shape memory alloys,
magnetostrictive materials, electro-magneto rheological fluids.

In recent years this new philosophy of design had its importance increased. In order to
try to consolidate this important subject in Brazil, several research groups from
different Universities had created the INCT-EIE (National Institute of Science and
Technology of Smart Structures in Engineering). Recently, this group created the ABCM
Committee of Smart Materials & Structures with the support of the Brazilian
community of mechanical sciences and engineering.

During CONEM 2010, the first Symposium in this subject was organized with a good
response of the community. A new Symposium on Smart Materials & Structures will be
hosted by COBEM 2011. The main aim of the meeting is to stimulate the community of
mechanical sciences and engineering to develop the technology for new generation of
systems and structures exploring the principles of smart materials. We would like to
encourage the conference participants to join us!