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AmeriMech Symposia Series

AmeriMech symposia are intended to promote interactions among researchers in an area of contemporary interest in the mechanics of fluids and solids. It is expected that the symposia will address topics of a specialized nature, will be small in size (about 50 participants) with minimal cost, have informal setting, encourage participation of young researchers, and promote interdisciplinary ideas and discussions. This format allows for in-depth discussions and close interactions between participants. Such symposia are known to help assess the state-of-the-art and chart new directions for the future.

Symposia proposals that have already been approved include:

• Dynamics of Metamaterials (Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, 2-4 April, 2014)
• Mechanics in Biology (Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 22-23 May, 2014)
• Internal Waves in Fluids (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 9-12 June, 2014)

More details on these symposia can be found in the 2014 AmeriMech overview (PDF document).


Symposia Details
AmeriMech symposia should normally extend over two to four days, according to need and scope. The symposia are required to be held at a university campus so as to minimize costs. They are organized by two to three researchers with one of them being the Chair. The organizers are responsible for planning and conducting the symposium. The symposia should be organized in such a way that they promote vibrant, informal and informative discussions. The symposia are held in a single session format and ample time should be left for breaks and discussions. In many cases introductory or review lectures can be used to motivate and introduce the topic. It is expected that the presentations from the symposium will be posted on a website so that they can be disseminated broadly.

Proceeding papers of the presentations are not required. It may be worthwhile for the organizers to prepare a paper within a short time (one-two months) after the conclusion of the symposium on the recent advances and research needs identified during the symposium to be published online and perhaps in an archival journal. Papers may be collected from the invited participants and published as a special issue of a journal after normal review procedure but this is left to the interests of the organizers.


Symposia Proposal Requirements 
The proposal should contain:

(i) title for the symposium
(ii) proposed dates (at least the month), location and number of days
(iii) anticipated number of participants
(iv) proposer’s (Chair) name, affiliation and contact information (phone number, email) and name(s) and affiliation of co-organizers
(v) a synopsis (~200 words) containing the need and timeliness of the symposia, objectives, topics of interest and anticipated benefits. Subjects for symposia that promote mechanics in emerging areas are encouraged.

Researchers interested in organizing an AmeriMech symposium are invited to submit a one-page proposal by email to ravi@caltech.edu. The 2014 submission deadline was July 31, 2014.


Additional Proposal Information
Decisions regarding the USNC/TAM’s sponsorship of the symposia will be provided by August 31, 2014 and the approved symposia will be publicized on its website. It is expected that the approved symposia will take place within 6-12 months from the time of approval. General guidelines for organizing a successful symposium will be provided to the organizers. The cost of holding an AmeriMech symposium should be kept low and has to be covered by the registration fee. USNC/TAM anticipates sponsoring two symposia per year. Modest seed funding to help with the organization of the symposia will be provided based on need. The organizers are encouraged to also seek support from other sources.