Description: Soft materials are materials that deform easily upon external forces. Engineering materials, such as rubbers and thermoplastic elastomers, and soft tissues, such as arteries, skin and brain tissues, are good examples of these materials. Understanding the large deformation mechanical response of these materials based on the knowledge of underlying material structure and deformation physics is critically important in engineering applications and biomedical applications. The goal of this three-session symposium is to bring together researchers working on polymers, soft materials and soft tissues to exchange recent advances and inspire new concepts. Researchers are invited to present their recent work in constitutive modeling and experimental investigations of large deformation behavior, structure-function relationships, remodeling, and degradation of the following materials and material systems:

• Polymers, elastomers, and composites
• Environmental responsive gels
• Liquid crystal elastomers
• Arteries, skin, and brain tissues
• Cells
• Bio-membranes
• Other soft materials and soft tissues