Mechanical Metamaterials and the next generations of advanced materials

Driven by a wide range of applications, materials with novel structural properties are being designed for diverse functionalities. This is of particular interest in the growing field of smart materials, where mechanical requirements must be satisfied while meeting sustainability and economic criteria. These are timely issues and most efficiently addressed by going beyond the ordinary properties of matter, towards engineered geometrical selection allowing the control of extraordinary bulk properties. This is the concern in the field of Mechanical Metamaterials, central to this work's contribution, which proposes careful selection of geometry as a path to discover the next generations of advanced materials. This project focuses on uncovering mathematical descriptions for the use of the Japanese art of paper cutting, namely Kirigami, and Reticulated Frames in optimal geometric design, from micro to macro scale, for remarkable mechanical performance.