Flutter instability: From plant circumnutations to soft robotic systems

Giovanni Noselli | SISSA Trieste, Italy

Aula Pintori, Asilo Sella, via Garibaldi 35, Alghero
8 luglio 2026 dalle 11:00 alle 12:15 

Regarded as a detrimental phenomenon in engineering, flutter instability has recently been shown to enable emergent functional behaviors in both natural and synthetic systems. In this talk, I will briefly review the fundamentals of flutter through the analysis of Ziegler’s double pendulum and then discuss recent results, inspired by studies on plant circumnutations, showing how this dynamic instability can be successfully harnessed for the design and control of soft robotic systems.

Giovanni Noselli is professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at SISSA - International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste. In 2012, he joined the applied mathematics group mathLab, where he leads the SAMBA and BioMat experimental laboratories. His activities range from mechanobiology and soft robotics to structural instabilities, fracture mechanics, and active materials. His approach to research combines experimental observation, mathematical modeling, and numerical simulation.