Mechanical meta-materials, also known as architectured or architected materials, are an emerging class of materials in which mechanical properties can be tailored by altering their internal architectures to access properties and functionalities not available to their monolithic counterparts. Analogous to these materials, the same concept has been used to modify devices and surfaces, leading to mechanical meta-devices and mechanical meta-surfaces. For example, robotic pick-and-place devices can be architectured to tune their shape and stiffness in situ so they can interact with objects with various shapes and hardnesses. Or surfaces of biomedical implants can be nano-architectured (nano-structured) to lyse the bacteria cells, a strategy pioneered in nature, for example, in insect wings.

This website showcases our research in new classes of mechanical meta-materials, -devices, and -surfaces. For design, we use analytical and finite element models. We develop novel manufacturing techniques for fabrication, including ceramic 3D/4D printing. And we use state-of-the-art characterisation techniques, such as mechanical testing under in-situ stereo-imaging and in-stu computed tomography, to understand the architecture-property relationships, which can then be used for optimisation.