We have the pleasure of hosting Norbert Hoffmann and Charlotte Geier from the Hamburg University of Technology on the 27th of March 2025 for a seminar entitled Network Based Perspectives on Vibrations in Complex Systems.
Abstract: Systems are usually defined by their external limits and the ways how the system interacts with the environment, and by internal structure and internal interactions. From an abstract viewpoint, graphs or complex networks, potentially enriched with various sorts of dynamical interactions, seem to fit very well to such a systems type perspective. With a view to vibrations of engineering systems, we are often confronted to accept them as complex in the sense that they may show various phenomena which are sometimes subsumed under the category of physical complexity: stability and bifurcation phenomena, transition to chaos and turbulence, emergence of patterns, forced or spontaneous localization in space, time, or space-time, multi-scale and multi-domain dynamics, to name just some of the most marked ones. On top, often our knowledge about system properties, parameters, or even system structure itself is limited, such that in addition we have to deal with various sorts of uncertainty. Here we will attempt to derive general graph or network type descriptions for engineering vibrations from known properties and observable behaviour. Network modelling has become an important tool for many disciplines in the social and natural sciences. However, it seems network modelling for systems closer to mechanics, or physics in general, has not been attempted very often. Here we make some first steps into the subject to evaluate if a general network perspective might enrich the already available and prevailing modelling paradigms for vibrations in complex engineering systems.
Bios: Norbert Hoffmann is professor for structural dynamics at Hamburg University of Technology. His main research interests are in complex vibrations of mechanical structures and in nonlinear waves. Application fields include automotive systems, aircraft engines, and ocean waves and maritime systems.
Charlotte Geier is a researcher and PhD candidate in the Dynamics Group at the Hamburg University of Technology. Her research focuses on nonlinear dynamics, complex networks, and their interconnections, aiming to develop novel, network-based perspectives on the nonlinear dynamics of mechanical structures.
Practical info: the seminar will take place on the 27th of March 2025 at 2 pm (Paris time) online.
The link for attending the seminar will be shared later.