MEAM Seminar: “From Rogue Waves to Origami: Energy Focusing and Dissipation in Mechanical Metamaterials”
February 17 at 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM
Mechanical metamaterials offer unique opportunities to focus or dissipate energy through controlled wave dynamics. I will first present experimental studies of wave localization in one-dimensional nonlinear lattices, where we observed highly concentrated rogue-wave responses that uncover new pathways for energy focusing. I will then discuss origami-inspired Resch-patterned metamaterials, which utilize multimodal deformation to adaptively bifurcate and enhance impact absorption under various impact conditions. Together, these results illustrate how mechanical metamaterials can be systematically engineered to localize, focus, and dissipate energy—advancing our ability to control waves and improve impact resilience.
Jinkyu Yang
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University
Jinkyu “JK” Yang is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU) and currently the William R. Kenan, Jr. Visiting Professor at Princeton University for the 2025–2026 academic year. Previously, he served as a professor in the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics at the University of Washington from 2013 to 2022. Dr. Yang earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Aeronautics & Astronautics from Stanford University and a B.S. from KAIST, Korea. His professional background includes a postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech (2009–2011) and industry experience as a Senior Engineer at Samsung Electronics. His research focuses on the development of innovative engineered materials, including mechanical metamaterials, origami-inspired structures, and unconventional composites for aerospace, mechanical, and biomedical applications. This work has been featured in major media outlets such as Reuters, NSF News, and PBS. Dr. Yang is an AIAA Associate Fellow, an NSF CAREER Award recipient, and an Associate Editor for the AIAA Journal of Aircraft.