The IMCS participates in the NL26 Course in Pavia

From the 18th to 22nd of May 2026, the "NL26 Course - Nonlinear Computational Solid & Structural Mechanics" took place at the University of Pavia, providing a broad overview of numerical methods and solution algorithms in nonlinear solid and structural mechanics as well as in fluid mechanics and fluid-structure interaction. The IMCS was represented by the doctoral candidates Simon Völkl and Benno Schönstein. The participants formed an international group, with doctoral candidates and researchers from numerous countries, including Germany, Italy, England, and the USA.

The program spanned a wide arc, from the fundamentals - variational formulations, finite element methods for 1D and 2D solids, and structural elements for beams, plates, and shells - through inelastic constitutive models for small and large strains to structural dynamics, stability and path-following analysis, and contact problems. Further lectures addressed isogeometric analysis, the virtual element method, shape and topology optimization, and multi-scale methods such as FE². The course concluded with an open discussion of current research questions. Daily tutorials based on in-house codes and sample problems deepened the material and provided direct exchange with the lecturers - among them Robert L. Taylor, Peter Wriggers, Manfred Bischoff, Ferdinando Auricchio, Carlo Lovadina, and Guillermo Lorenzo.

The week was rounded off by the setting of the university town of Pavia: the historic old town with its churches, courtyards, and the university - one of the oldest in Europe - provided a fitting backdrop for scientific exchange beyond the lecture halls.