Lale Yilmaz
Lale Yilmaz is a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering whose research focuses on nonlinear mechanics and granular media. Specifically, she is working to develop simulation tools to model uprooting processes in different soils and has created a MATLAB-based software package that combines nonlinear beam theory and a novel variant of the Resistive Force Theory (RFT) of granular media, enabling her to create the first simulations of flexible root-like structures that interact mechanically with soil during the process of uprooting. The resulting elastic RFT (eRFT) incorporates elasticity and captures the resistance provided by the granular soils in uprooting systems. As a MathWorks Fellow, Lale plans to adapt this paired eRFT-inextensible roots solver to more complex geometries, using a MATLAB-based root geometry generator she has created to manipulate the defining parameters of the root structure. She will also introduce viscosity to the solver and extend it to a wider range of soil models. Lale’s research has the potential to offer next- generation computational engineering tools supporting research in many complex systems and phenomena.