Marta Lewicka, a professor of mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh, will give the 2017 Howard Rowlee Lecture at 4 p.m. April 21, in Avery Hall, Room 115, for the Nebraska Department of Mathematics.

Lewicka’s talk, “A Tour of Shape Formation,” will discuss principles of nonlinear elasticity and their implications in the manufacture of deformable structures, such as airplane wings.

When an elastic body adjusts to its internal strains, it attains an “optimal” shape that minimizes the internal forces, a physical principle that underlies the formation of many shapes. This phenomenon can be described by the theory of mathematical elasticity.

Lewicka’s lecture is open to the public.

The Howard Rowlee Lecture, made possible by Howard Rowlee Jr.’s donation, is an annual event. It seeks to bring internationally acclaimed scholars in the mathematical sciences to Nebraska to promote public understanding of mathematical research and to stimulate the environment for mathematics research at Nebraska.