Boulder Workshop on the Mechanics of BioNetworks
May 11-13, 2026
@ University of Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Welcome to the third Workshop on Mechanics of BioNetworks in Boulder, Colorado, at the gateway to the Rocky Mountains.
The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers from mechanics, biomechanics, and mechanobiology by using networksas a common language and modeling framework. Despite overlapping interests, the mechanics and biomechanics communities remain loosely connected. In mechanics, research often focuses on fundamental problems such as fracture, constitutive modeling, and multiscale behavior in engineered materials. Biomechanics, in contrast, focuses on biological and medical challenges, including tissue growth, repair, and cellular dynamics. Yet virtually all biological materials and many engineering materials can be viewed through the lens of networks. This unifying theme also extends to artificial intelligence, whose architectures are themselves based on networks and can be leveraged to reveal the underlying network mechanics that bridge both biological and engineering systems. This workshop aims to create a shared language between these domains by connecting researchers across the world for four fruitful days of invited talks and close discussion. Creating a shared language between these domains will accelerate discoveries in both, generating biologically inspired mechanics problems and new engineering solutions grounded in biological principles.
The workshop will feature a focused program of invited talks, group discussions, and ample time for informal interactions designed to spark new collaborations. Sessions will highlight both experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding active and living networks, ranging from polymer and cellular materials to engineered systems. In addition to the scientific program, participants will be able to enjoy Boulder, which combines a lively college town with outdoor trails and mountain views. We hope you will join us to share ideas, forge new connections, and experience the unique setting that makes Boulder an inspiring place for science and discovery.
Scientific Vision and Objectives
Mechanics and biomechanics share many foundational questions, yet they often evolve in separate directions—mechanics focusing on soft material behavior, fracture, and multiscale modeling, and biomechanics tackling medically relevant challenges in tissue growth, healing, and mechanobiology. Network mechanics offers a powerful common framework: biological structures are inherently organized as dynamic networks, from cytoskeletal filaments and fibrous extracellular matrices to multicellular tissues and organoid architectures, while engineered soft materials are increasingly designed with similar network principles. By leveraging this shared perspective, we can uncover how local force transmission and remodeling at the cellular scale give rise to large-scale mechanical and functional behavior in living systems. The goal of this workshop is to identify key open problems and foster new collaborations that integrate fundamental mechanics with biological applications to advance both fields. The objectives of the workshop are to
- Identify grand challenges. The workshop will include breakout sessions for participants to identify the grand challenges and critical knowledge gaps at the interface of mechanics and biomechanics/mechanobiology. The outcome will be a community-authored review paper that will propose a research roadmap for advancing predictive modeling in biological and non-biological network-based systems.
- Build sustainable cross-disciplinary momentum. We aim to generate lasting activities and partnerships that will sustain interactions between the mechanics and biomechanics communities beyond the workshop. This includes establishing working groups, creating shared platforms for exchanging data and organizing follow up workshops in the future.
- Initiate new collaborations. We hope that this workshop will bring together researchers from mechanics, biomechanics, and mechanobiology, as well as industrial experts to seed new interdisciplinary collaborations.
Topics
This workshop targets research on the fundamental mechanics of biological and engineered networks, with emphasis on how network structure and mechanics influences biological processes such as remodeling, fracture, healing, and adaptation. We welcome contributions that span theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches, including those leveraging AI to reveal, model, or control underlying mechanisms. Key topics include:
Mechanical behavior of networks including damage, fracture, healing, activity
Mechanics–biology interactions including remodeling and adaptation
Engineered living materials and organoid mechanics
Multiscale modeling, simulation and experiments
Chairs
- Franck Vernerey, University of Colorado Boulder
- Taher Saif, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
- Catalin Picu, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Scientific Board
- Abdul Barakat, Ecole Polytechnique, France
- Guy Genin, Washington University
- Paul Jamney, University of Pennsylvania
- Edoardo Mazza, ETH Zurich
- Michael Sacks, University of Texas at Austin
Venue and dates
University of Colorado Boulder
1111 Engineering Drive, Boulder, CO 80309
Dates: May 11-14, 2026
Scientific Program
The final scientific program for the Workshop on Mechanics of BioNetworks, including the complete schedule with all times and dates, will be released in mid-April 2026.
Workshop Structure
This workshop will bring together a balanced and diverse cohort spanning mechanics, biomechanics, mechanobiology, and computer science, as well as a range of career stages from students to senior researchers. The tentative program includes approximately:
- 10 invited keynotes (perspective)
- 30 invited presentations (technical)
- 25-30 2-minute flash presentations accompanying poster sessions to encourage engagement and cross-disciplinary discussion.
List of Speakers
- Catalin Picu (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
- Taher Saif (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
- Guy Genin (Washington University)
- Edoardo Mazza (ETH Zurich)
- Michael Sacks (University of Texas at Austin)
- Abdul Barakat (Ecole Polytechnique)
- Vivek B Shenoy (University of Pennsylvania)
- Alexandre J. Kabla (University of Cambridge)
- Marino Arroyo (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)
- Jason A. Burdick (University of Colorado Boulder)
- Frederick C MacKintosh (Rice University)
- Emanuela Del Gado (Georgetown University)
- Andrea Liu (University of Pennsylvania)
- Sanjay Kumar (UC Berkeley)
- Nicholas A. Kotov (University of Michigan)
- Prashant Purohit (University of Pennsylvania)
- Brian Cox (Independent researcher)
- Emma Lejeune (Boston University)
- Laurence Brassart (University of Oxford)
- Nikolaos Bouklas (Cornell University)
- Stéphane Avril (Ecole des Mines de Saint-Étienne)
- François Barthelat (University of Colorado Boulder)
- Hamed Hatami Marbini (University of Illinois Chicago)
- Jacob Notbohm (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
- Marco Pensalfini (Queen Mary University of London)
- Farid Alisafaei (New Jersey Institute of Technology)
- Moumita Das (Rochester Institute of Technology)
- Xiaoming Mao (University of Pennsylvania)
- Assaf Zemel (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
- Noy Cohen (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology)
- Tong (Tony) Gao (Tufts University)
- NurisFigueroa Morales (University of Colorado Boulder)
- MeredithBetterton (University of Colorado Boulder)
- Christian Peco (Penn State University)
- Alireza Sarvestani (Mercer University)
- Clement Campillo (Université d'Évry Paris-Saclay)
- Jean-Marc Allain (Ecole Polytechnique)
- Franck J. Vernerey (University of Colorado Boulder)
- Virginia (Ginger)Ferguson (University of Colorado Boulder)
- Laureano Ortellado (Université Grenoble Alpes)
Registration for the workshop is planned to be minimal to no cost, and will include complimentary breakfast and lunch for all participants. We are actively seeking sponsorship to further support the event; however, at this time, participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation. We are working to secure discounted lodging options to help reduce expenses and ensure broad accessibility for attendees.
Registration can be completed using the link below:
Travel to Boulder
The nearest airport is Denver International Airport (DEN), located approximately 45 minutes from Boulder.
Transportation Options:
AB1 bus: This route provides a direct connection between Denver International Airport (DEN) and Downtown Boulder, operating in both directions. Route AB1 operates 7 days a week. Frequency is generally 60 minutes at all times, although an extra trip is offered in the early afternoon to serve a common end of shift time for airport employees. For the schedule of the AB1 route, please visit:
The RTD AB1 SkyRide bus departs from the Denver International Airport (DIA) Transit Center, located on Level 1 of the terminal beneath the Westin Hotel. The AB1 bus typically boards from Gate 6 or Gate 8 in the bus terminal. The fare is $10.50 per person (one way) and must be paid in cash with exact change. The closest AB1 bus stop to the workshop venue and the Hilton Garden Inn is “Broadway & Euclid Ave.”, located about 1.0 mile away. The closest stop to the Hotel Boulderado is “Downtown Boulder Station,” which is approximately 0.3 miles away. You can also download the PDF map from
- Uber/Lyft (~$70-100)
- Rental cars available at DEN
Accommodation
Participants are responsible for booking their own accommodation. The following hotels are located near the workshop venue:
Hilton Garden Inn Boulder ()
Hilton Garden Inn Boulder is located approximately one mile from the workshop venue. The hotel is also close to several Boulder attractions, including Pearl Street Mall and Chautauqua Park.
Embassy Suites by Hilton Boulder ()
Embassy Suites by Hilton Boulder is located approximately 0.7 miles from the workshop venue and about a five-minute drive from Pearl Street Mall and Downtown Boulder.
Hotel Boulderado ()
Hotel Boulderado is located approximately 1.2 miles from the workshop venue. Situated in Downtown Boulder, the hotel provides a great opportunity to explore the area and enjoy evening walks around Boulder.
For inquiries about the workshop, please contact us at: behnam.rezaei@colorado.edu