Exploring the Imminent Destiny of Metamaterials: A Roadmap to the Ahead

Artificially structured materials, known as metamaterials, exhibit extraordinary properties uncommon in nature due to their engineered three-dimensional geometries at the micro- and nanoscale. These engineered materials, which have emerged over the past decade as a promising solution to engineering challenges where conventional materials have fallen short, possess unique mechanical and physical properties with capabilities beyond those of traditional materials.

However, the full potential of these architected materials remains largely untapped due to challenges in design, fabrication, and characterization. Improvements and scalability in these areas have the potential to transform various industries, including biomedical implants, sports equipment, automotive and aerospace, energy, and electronics.

Commenting on the potential impact of advances in fabrication, design optimization, and high-throughput testing, Carlos Portela, the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor and assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, stated, "These advancements could revolutionize the mechanics and materials science disciplines, enabling smarter, more adaptive materials that redefine engineering and everyday technologies."

In a Perspective published in the journal Nature Materials, Portela and James Surjadi, a postdoc in mechanical engineering, discuss the primary hurdles, opportunities, and future applications in the field of mechanical metamaterials. The paper is titled "Enabling three-dimensional architected materials across length scales and timescales."

The future of the field, according to Portela, requires innovation in fabricating these materials across length scales, from nano to macro, progress in understanding them at a variety of time scales, from slow deformation to dynamic impact, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

A Perspective is a type of peer-reviewed content used by the journal to invite reflection or discussion on matters that may be speculative, controversial, or highly technical, where the subject matter may not meet the criteria for a Review.

Portela and Surjadi's paper summarizes the current state of approaches in material design, fabrication, and characterization and highlights existing knowledge gaps. It also proposes a roadmap to accelerate the discovery of architected materials with programmable properties via the synergistic combination of high-throughput experimentation and computational efforts, aiming to leverage emerging artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques for their design and optimization.

According to Surjadi, high-throughput miniaturized experiments, non-contact characterization, and benchtop extreme-condition methods will generate rich datasets for the implementation of data-driven models, accelerating the optimization and discovery of metamaterials with unique properties.

The Portela Lab's mission is "architected mechanics and materials across scales." The Perspective aims to bridge the gap between fundamental research and real-world applications of next-generation architected materials and presents a vision the lab has been working toward for the past four years.

The challenges in material design, fabrication, and characterization of 3D architected materials include adapting materials for printability and performance, cost barriers, and testing under extreme or specialized conditions. Ongoing advances in digital tools, multi-material printing, AI integration, and academia-industry collaboration offer transformative opportunities in construction, aerospace, and beyond, enabling structures and components with unprecedented complexity, functionality, and sustainability.

The field of mechanical metamaterials, as discussed by Portela and Surjadi in their article titled "Enabling three-dimensional architected materials across length scales and timescales," requires innovation in the fabrication of these materials across various lengths, from nanoscale to macroscale.
In their Perspective published in the journal Nature Materials, Portela and Surjadi propose a roadmap to accelerate the discovery of architected materials with programmable properties by leveraging high-throughput experimentation, computational efforts, and emerging artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques.
Material design, fabrication, and characterization challenges in 3D architected materials should be addressed by adapting materials for printability and performance, overcoming cost barriers, and testing under extreme or specialized conditions.
Improvements in digital tools, multi-material printing, AI integration, and academia-industry collaboration offer transformative opportunities in construction, aerospace, and various other industries, allowing for structures and components with unparalleled complexity, functionality, and sustainability.
According to Portela, the future of the field necessitates progress in understanding these materials at multiple time scales, from slow deformation to dynamic impact, and interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers.
In the journal Nature Materials, a Perspective is a type of peer-reviewed content used to invite reflection or discussion on subject matters that may be speculative, controversial, or highly technical, where the subject matter may not meet the criteria for a Review.
The full potential of metamaterials is not yet fully realized, due to challenges in design, fabrication, and characterization, but improvements in these areas could transform numerous industries, such as biomedical implants, sports equipment, automotive and aerospace, energy, and electronics, as well as redefine engineering and everyday technologies.