The Engineered Adaptive Structures IV Conference (EAS) was held in Banff, Canada, July 19 – 23, 2004.  This year marked the return to the city where our conferences started in 1997.  EAS brings together leaders and visionaries in the disciplines encompassing adaptive structures.

 

EAS IV focuses on the emerging technologies based on the concept that structures can be engineered to adapt to changing environments. This adaptability is achieved by integrating sensing and actuating devices within the structure together with some fun of intelligence for control purposes. While the adaptability is common in the biological world, e.g., changes in the skin color of a chameleon to match its environment, adaptability in engineered structures is still very much an emerging technology. Applications similar to this are due to advances in four major technologies that are continuing to develop rapidly in Asia, Europe, and the USA.

 

The structure of the conference permitted sessions to be held daily along with ample time for attendees to enjoy the wonderful sights of the Canadian Rockies. There were presentations by 22 participants   Plans are underway for the next EAS to be held in 2006 in Europe.

 

Presentations

The European Integrated Project: “Intelligent Materials for Active Noise Reduction – InMAR” – An Overview, Dr. –Ing. Th. Bein, Technical University Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

 

Recent Activities in Adaptive Structures at the EMPA, Dr. Stanislaw Pietrzko, EMPA, Duebendorf, Switzerland

 

Research on Adaptive Structures at CIRA, Antonio Concilio, CIRA, Capua, Italy

 

Overview of the DARPA/AFRL “Next Generation Morphing Aircraft Structures (N-MAS)” Program, Jayanth N. Kudva, NextGen Aeronautics, Inc., California, USA

 

Designer Mechanical Properties and Failure Probabilities for Tailored Light Weight Viscoeleastic Structures Under Thermal and Piezoelectric Control, Harry H. Hilton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA

 

The Behavior of NiTinol Wire under Extreme Conditions of Large Strains and Transient Heating, Weicheng Chen, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA

 

Design of a Compliant Robot Arm Based on Electroactive Polymer, Michael Grissom, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA

 

New Developments in Ferroelectric Materials and Their Applications, Christopher Lynch, The Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia, USA

 

An Introduction to the New Magnetostrictive Material Galfenol, Alison Flatau, University of Maryland, USA

 

Vibration Control via Shunt Damping, Dominik Niedergerger, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

 

Design and Control of a Tunable Vibration Absorber, Michael Brennan, ISVR, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom

 

The Active Control of Vibration Shock, Malcolm Swinbanks, Vibration & Sound Solutions Limited, Virginia, USA

 

On the Mechanical and Electrical Tailoring of Piezoelectric Actuations for Structural Control Enhancement, Kon-Well Wang, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA

 

New Approaches for Flight Control and Stability Analysis of Morphing Aircraft and Adaptive Structures, Rama K. Yedavalli, The Ohio State University, Ohio, USA

 

Micro Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Motors, Kenji Uchino, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA

 

Design and Modeling of a High Power Piezoelectric Stack Driven Actuator, Jacob Loverich, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA

 

Piezoelectric Hybrid Linear Actuator for LCAC Rudder Control, Jeremy Frank, KCF Technologies, Inc., Pennsylvania, USA

 

An Active Upper-limb Prosthesis, Dr. –Ing. Thilo Bien, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

 

Morphing Rotor Blades and Panels (MORPH), Dr. Marthinus van Schoor, Mide Technology Corporation, Massachuettes, USA

 

Optimization of Integrated Smart Actuators for Maximum Energy Efficiency, Douglas K. Lindner, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia, USA

 

Electromechanical Coupling Factors in Smart Systems, George A. Lesieutre, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA

 

Thermal Impedance Energy Conversion, Dave Flamm, SRI International, California, USA

 

High Power Piezoelectric Transformers, Kenji Uchino, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA

 

Morphing Structural Surfaces to Minimize Radiated Sound Power, Gary H. Koopmann, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA