Talbot Lecturer Highlights Evolution of Contact Mechanics

Leon M. Keer, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University, spoke about the evolution of contact mechanics at the Arthur Newell Talbot Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, February 21.

His talk focused on how the mathematical framework in this area has evolved from developing analytical solutions to solving problems from a purely computational approach--a shift that has been necessitated by the industrial focus on surface phenomena and the requirement of increased component life with more stringent load requirements.

A former North Atlantic Treaty Organization Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellow, Keer conducts research in the area of solid mechanics and investigates specialized topics of fracture and fatigue, surface mechanics and tribology.