Principal Investigator Joern Dunkel
Buckling and wrinkling are common symmetry-breaking phenomena that play important roles in a wide range of biological and physical systems. Examples range from embryogenesis and biological tissue differentiation to structure formation processes in heterogeneous thin films or on planetary surfaces. Yet, owing to the nonlinearity of the underlying stretching and bending forces, it has been difficult to predict the wrinkling patterns that occur when a curved multi-layered surface is subjected to mechanical stress. In collaboration with the Reis lab, we have developed a generalized Swift-Hohenberg theory that explains the transition between hexagonal and fingerprint-like structures, as observed in experimental studies of thin shells on curved soft substrates.