CDFAM Computational Design Symposium — DC 2026Giorgia Cannici · Virginia TechWhat if material fabrication could shift from assembly to growth—and be directed with precision through external fields?This work introduces magnetotropic plants: genetically engineered organisms in which gravity-sensing organelles (statoliths) are rendered magnetically responsive. By replacing gravitational cues with externally applied magnetic fields, plant growth direction can be actively controlled in real time. This enables programmable morphogenesis, where biological growth becomes a steerable process rather than a fixed outcome of genetics and environment.The presentation will outline the biological mechanism, the experimental framework, and the implications of this approach for material production.Magnetic fields act as an invisible, non-contact control layer, allowing spatial and temporal guidance of growth without mechanical intervention.Beyond applications in microgravity environments such as space, this work suggests a broader shift in how we produce materials—moving from extractive, energy-intensive processes toward growth-driven fabrication, where form emerges from the interaction between engineered biology and designed environmental conditions.LinksTalk page with full transcriptWatch the talk on YouTubeSearch this talk's transcriptCite this talk This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.designforam.com
CDFAM Computational Design Symposium — DC 2026Matthew Shomper · Not a Robot EngineeringNature has been solving the problem of impact protection for millennia, in order to arrive at solutions far more elegant than anything on the market today. The microstructure of a bighorn sheep’s horn is one of the most striking examples : a geometry that is brutally efficient at scattering and absorbing energy, such that the animal can sustain repeated high-speed collisions without lasting damage. The challenge has always been translating that geometry into something we can actually manufacture.Additive manufacturing allows us to build internal geometries that were previously impossible to fabricate : graded densities, interlocking fiber patterns, and layered structures that mirror what nature spent millions of years optimizing. By digitally modeling the ram’s horn at the microstructural level and translating those patterns directly into printable designs, we can produce armor components that outperform conventional materials in energy absorption while perfectly conforming to the body.This work represents a broader shift in protective equipment design: away from material selection alone, and toward architecture as the primary engineering tool.LinksTalk page with full transcriptWatch the talk on YouTubeSearch this talk's transcriptCite this talk This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.designforam.com
CDFAM Computational Design Symposium — DC 2026Damola Michael; Elliot Glassman · CannonDesignThe environmental design conversation typically begins too late, after massing is committed and geometry is locked. Aurora repositions that conversation to day one, giving architects and engineers an immediate, evidence-based picture of any site before a design tool is opened.The platform synthesises EPW weather files, CMIP6 climate projections, ASHRAE design conditions, NOAA historical records for US sites, and seismic hazard data into a unified analysis environment, covering temperature and humidity distributions, wind roses, solar radiation by facade orientation, thermal comfort (UTCI, PET, SET), rainfall, carbon intensity, and future projections to 2050. Every analysis is immediately exportable as a formatted PDF or PowerPoint report, ready to present to a client or design team without additional preparation.Two integrated AI layers surface this data as design insight. A streaming conversational assistant powered by Google Gemini is grounded in the actual EPW and CMIP6 data for the active location. It explains what site climate means for design decisions, renders specific charts inside the conversation, and adjusts application settings through natural language. A second layer generates AI-written summary cards for ASHRAE design conditions and 2050 climate outlooks, automatically scoped to the site.Aurora does not generate or evaluate geometry. This is intentional: it is a pre-design climate intelligence layer, not a replacement for tools like Autodesk Forma. It provides the environmental literacy that should inform every decision made in those tools, a shared language between architect, engineer, and client before a single wall is drawn.LinksTalk page with full transcriptWatch the talk on YouTubeSearch this talk's transcriptCite this talk This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.designforam.com
CDFAM Computational Design Symposium — DC 2026Matthew Sederberg · CoreformThe traditional “design-to-analysis” loop is often bottlenecked by the laborious process of mesh generation, which can consume up to 80% of total simulation time. This presentation introduces Coreform IGA for Abaqus, a solution that brings CAD-exact isogeometric analysis (IGA) directly into the Abaqus ecosystem. By utilizing Coreform’s Isogeometric Analysis approach, users can perform high-fidelity simulations directly on CAD geometry, effectively bypassing the need for traditional finite element meshing.LinksTalk page with full transcriptWatch the talk on YouTubeSearch this talk's transcriptCite this talk This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.designforam.com
CDFAM Computational Design Symposium — DC 2026Mike Park · FlexcomputeComputational design enables wider configuration exploration and reduces time to market, but turning innovation into validated, manufacturable designs is hampered by human-in-the-loop simulation. Manual geometry cleanup, meshing, and data management pace every workflow, while the feedback loops between simulation and the rest of the design organization stay broken by data silos. This talk presents an end-to-end, AI-native approach to closing those loops. GeometryAI applies a novel, topology-aware geometry representation that takes raw CAD to analysis-ready models automatically with mathematical guarantees that facilitate meshing and analysis. Physics-agnostic output feeds CFD, structural, and thermal tools with direct connections to surrogate training and inference. The GPU-native solver Flow360 delivers high-fidelity physics at speeds that tighten feedback loops. Thread ties it together with automatic data lineage, so every run is reproducible, every result is traceable, and institutional knowledge becomes the starting point rather than the bottleneck. Standard web interfaces and Python APIs enable humans and their agents equally. Real-world results are validated with industry-standard AIAA High-Lift Prediction Workshop submissions. Full-aircraft hover analysis is possible in hours. We show how geometry-aware automation, GPU-native simulation, and complete traceability make simulation-driven design genuinely agent-ready, at the scale and speed modern programs demand.LinksTalk page with full transcriptWatch the talk on YouTubeSearch this talk's transcriptCite this talk This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.designforam.com