Computer animation artists don’t have a simple mathematical means for describing bouncy, curl hair, so hair is usually extremely rigid or straight with a to-and-fro swing. But in the Feb. 13 issue of Physical Review Letters, Professor Pedro Reis, James Miller PhD ’14 and co-authors provide the first detailed model for the 3-D shape of a strand of curly hair. Computer animation engineers could use the model, as well as engineers who want to predict the curve that long steel pipes, tubing and cable develop after being coiled for transport. In engineering terminology, these items are all examples of a slender, flexible rod. Read a news story.