Professor Pedro Reis‘s recent blog post on iMechanica describes how “the intrinsic natural curvature of elastic filaments … can dramatically, quantitatively and qualitatively change the behavior of the system.” Reis, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, studies the mechanics of slender structures, with a particular focus on devising new ways of turning mechanical failure into functionality. His research group, the Elastic, Geometry & Statistics Laboratory (EGS.Lab), uses experimental, numerical and theoretical methods. Read the blog and join the discussion.