  Using Monte Carlo simulation methods, we explore the role of molecular shape
in the phase behavior of liquid crystals and the electroclinic effect. We study
a "bent-rod" mesogen shaped like the letter Z, composed of seven soft spheres
bonded rigidly together with no intra-molecular degrees of freedom. For
strongly angled molecules, we find that steric repulsion alone provides the
driving force for a smectic-C phase, even without intermolecular dipole-dipole
interactions. For weakly angled (nearly rod-like) molecules, we find a stable
smectic-A (SmA) phase and a strong electroclinic effect with a saturation tilt
angle of about 19 degrees. In the SmA phase we find evidence of vortex-like
point defects. We also observe a field-induced nematic-smectic phase
transition.
