The theme was centered on the close link between geometry and nonlinear behavior. While it is increasingly fashionable to study nonlinear constitutive laws, it is a fact that geometry, and by extension, a system's inherent kinematics, is a fundamental source of nonlinearity in a system. Geometric nonlinearities are present irrespective of the balance laws governing the system, be it large deformations in continuum mechanics or the input/output response of a mechanism.

The aim was to bring together nonlinear analysts and kinematicians, to hopefully share expertise across two fundamentally close fields, and also explore avenues of future collaborative research.

This was the second in the series on workshops on themes in Mechanics and Applied Mathematics. The themes are topical and inter-disciplinary, and attendees are chosen so as to provide an audience that is superficially incompatible. The talks are supposed to be relaxed but rigorous, informal but informed, and open-ended enough to elicit lively and intense discussion. Talks will be typically of about 40 minutes, followed by up to 20 minutes of discussion.