由衷 | 可部署结构：个人见解

You Zhong is a Professor of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. He received his bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, master's degree from Dalian University of Technology, and PhD from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. His research focuses on foldable structures, covering the design, simulation, and engineering applications of such structures, the design and mechanical analysis of multi-stable structures and energy-absorbing structures with creases, foldable structures assembled through mechanisms, and deployable medical implantable structures, including cerebrovascular flow-diverting stents for treating aneurysms and surgical devices for brain procedures. He is one of the pioneers of origami engineering. His research findings have been published in top-tier journals such as Science, and were selected for the Science Day exhibition at Buckingham Palace organized by the Royal Society, which represents the highest level of research in the UK. Science magazine has featured an interview about his research. In 2018, he successfully organized the seventh quadrennial Conference on Origami in Science, Mathematics, and Education at Oxford.

Deployable structures constitute a unique class of engineering systems whose geometries can transform to meet functional requirements, distinguishing them from conventional static structures in which internal motions are constrained. This talk presents a personal perspective on deployable structures, highlighting two major categories: deformable structures and structural mechanisms. Beginning with two-dimensional deployable systems, including two-dimensional ring mechanisms, and disk configurations. The discussion then extends to three-dimensional deployable structures, drawing particular attention to the Bennett linkage and its alternative formulations, whose spatial kinematics enable complex assemblies such as expandable arches and spiralling networks. Origami-inspired engineering is introduced as a powerful complementary paradigm, where foldable patterns and their thick-panel counterparts reveal deep connections to rigid-body linkages and enable metamaterials with tunable mechanical properties, compact folding, and programmable stability states.  The talk then shifts to deformable deployable structures in medical engineering, focusing on the development of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) devices. These micro structures, designed through principles of deployability and functionality, demonstrate significant clinical promise with substantial intraocular pressure reductions and simplified surgical procedures.  The presentation illustrates the wide range of applications of deployable structures and demonstrates how classical kinematics and computational mechanics can be used to make them compact, mobile and structurally efficient.