Full house for first Multistable Active Matter symposium
On April 16 and 17, AMOLF organized the first ‘Multistable Active Matter’ symposium. The initiative for this new symposium came from Martin van Hecke (Mechanical Metamaterials), with the aim of …
Microscopic metamaterials that can shrink and expand on their own
Physicists from AMOLF and Leiden University created the first micro-scale metamaterials that can take on specific shapes without external control. This breakthrough paves the way for smart, self-adapting materials. The …
When a slender object, like a card, column or beam, is compressed, it buckles and curves in one of two directions - as described by the scientist Leonhard Euler in …
How disordered materials age and what we can learn from that
From the crinkle of a candy wrapper to the squish of a metal kitchen scrubber, disordered materials that lack a regular structure share a surprising secret. Despite their differences, they …
AMOLF researchers in the group of Martin van Hecke working on theoretical models for disordered materials, discovered how these systems can start switching between states in unexpected ways. The results …
Burak Demirbas - Stress-induced protein dynamics and growth arrest in C. elegans during development - May 16th Burak did his doctoral research in the group of Jeroen van Zon. He …
Infomatter symposium: taking advantage of information in a system
On Thursday, May 22nd, AMOLF organized the Infomatter Symposium to discuss exciting developments in information processing — ranging from biochemical to mechanical and optical systems. What these systems share is …
Discovery unlocks new exotic properties for soft robotics, smart devices, and more. When you pull something—like a rubber band—you expect it to get longer. But what if it did the …
Without electronics carrying out computational tasks our daily lives would look very different. Devices such as elevators, vending machines, turnstiles, washing machines and even traffic lights use a simple form …
Corrugated plastic unveils a new design principle for programmable materials
Corrugated plastic turns out to be exemplary of a new class of ‘multistable’ metamaterials that can reversibly change shape. This insight can lead to new applications, from robots to medical …
