Inductive Constructions in Rigidity Theory (12w2181)

The "Inductive Constructions in Rigidity Theory" workshop will be hosted at The Banff International Research Station.

The rigidity and flexibility of a structure, either man-made in buildings, linkages, and lightweightrndeployable forms, or found in nature ranging from crystals to proteins, is critical to the form, function,rnand stability of the structure. The mathematical theory of `rigidity and flexibility' is developing methodsrnfor the analysis and design of man-made structures, as well as predictions of the behavior of naturalrnstructures such as proteins. One of the key ways to build examples and prove general results is anrninductive construction: a sequence of local steps that build all possible structures from a few simplernstarting examples.rnrnWe live in 3-dimensions, and a fundamental problem is to develop results for 3-dimensions which are asrngood and as efficient as the recently developed theory for structures in 2-dimensions.rnA sequence of recent papers have presented key new results, proven by induction, for 3-D body-bar frameworks -rnleaving the central, 100 year old problem of extensions to the bar and joint frameworks in 3-D.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologí255a (CONACYT).