Lunch and Learn Seminar: Multimaterial Additive Manufacturing for NextGeneration Functional Materials

Bio: Prof. Kumar leads the Sustainable Multifunctional Materials and Additive Manufacturing (SM²AM) Laboratory at the James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow. He earned his Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics and Materials Engineering from the University of Oxford. His research focuses on materials innovation and design for advanced and sustainable manufacturing, with particular emphasis on additive and digital approaches. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS), and the Institution of Engineers in Scotland (FIES). Prof. Kumar integrates theory, computation, and experiments to drive impactful advances in multifunctional and architected materials. He is a three-time recipient of the ASPIRE Award for Research Excellence (A2RE) and was recently honoured with the VAIBHAV Fellowship by DST/INAE, India (2024). He serves on the editorial boards of several leading journals, including Composites: Part A (Elsevier) and Advanced Engineering Materials (Wiley), and contributes to the ASME Structures and Materials Technical Committee. Prof. Kumar has authored over 140 publications in top-tier journals such as Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, and Nature Communications, led five Special Issue collections, and delivered more than 65 invited, keynote, and plenary talks worldwide. He has mentored over 60 researchers, with 12 now in academic faculty roles globally, and maintains active collaborations with institutions including MIT, the University of Cambridge, Georgia Tech, UT Austin, and Harvard Medical School.

Abstract: The emergence of micro-, nano-, and molecularly-tailored multimaterial systems, driven by breakthroughs in additive manufacturing (AM), is redefining the boundaries of material innovation. Leveraging the precision and versatility of 3D and 4D printing, AM enables unprecedented local customisation of material architectures and properties. In this talk, I will present our multidisciplinary research journey, highlighting compliance-engineered multilayers for enhanced performance, morphology-optimized composites, and surface-engineered systems for functional adaptability. I will also discuss nature-inspired materials, including nacreous composites and camouflage systems that emulate biological complexity; high-performance self-sensing systems and 4D-printed adaptive structures; multiscale and hierarchical fibre composites and electrically conductive materials with advanced functionalities; and architected metamaterials featuring 2D and 3D lattices designed for energy absorption, autonomous sensing, failure mitigation, lightweighting, reversible shape transformation, energy storage, water pollutant detection, and thermal management. We demonstrate the ability to control material behaviour at the micro- and nano-scale in 3D and 4D frameworks, which enables precise tuning of strain, stress, and functionality, paving the way for unprecedented performance and fabrication methods. By integrating scalable AM techniques with the design of nano- and micro-architected hierarchical structures, our research is driving the creation of new material classes with extraordinary properties. These paradigm-shifting advancements are poised to transform fields such as defence, energy, transportation, automotive, electronics, and aerospace, shaping the future of material science and engineering.