SFOAM - Self-Foldable Origami-Architected Metamaterials
Technological advancements and environmental challenges demand new design strategies to enhance material functionalities. S-FOAM aims to revolutionize metamaterials by embedding origami/kirigami capabilities within architected cellular structures, achieving unprecedented mechanical performance. These metamaterials will exhibit multistability, anisotropy, and shape-morphing through self-foldability induced by external stimuli. Unlike traditional origami, crease locations are self-guided by ellipticity loss in the homogenized material, controlled by topological defects in the microstructure. This introduces a novel research direction where materials adapt their shape to optimize stiffness, strength, and resilience. S-FOAM combines solid mechanics, simulations, and experiments for designing origami/kirigami-lattice metamaterials, with applications in soft robotics, wearable devices, adaptive medical tools, and flexible PVs for solar optimization.
Project details:
Research area
HORIZON-EUROPE-ERC-2022-COG
Project reference
GA: 101086644
Coordinator
Prof. Diego Misseroni
Project funding
1.93 million euro
Contract type
European Research Council (ERC)
Start date
01/01/2024
Duration
60 months
Contact
Link
This project has received funding from the
European Research Council (ERC) under the
Horizon Europe research and innovation programme
(Grant agreement number – 101086644)
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Team members
Diego Misseroni
Principal Investigator
Luca Deseri
Researcher
Andrea Piccolroaz
Researcher
Marco Broccardo
Researcher
Francesco Dal Corso
Researcher
Kemeng Cui
Postdoc student
Anandaroop Lahiri
Postdoc student
Samantha Mora
Postdoc student
Guozhan Xia
Postdoc student
Sveva Juliano
PhD student
Peijie Sun
PhD student
Arman Toofani
PhD student
Shuhong Wang
PhD student
Joao Pedro C. V. Norenberg
Visiting PhD student
News & Awards
2025 ERC - POC
Dr. Diego Misseroni has been awarded a 2025 European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept Grant for the project FLEXGRIP, building directly on the groundbreaking achievements of the ERC SFOAM project and advancing its results toward real-world applications.
European Academy of Sciences and Arts
Dr. Diego Misseroni has been elected as a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, in the Technical & Environmental Sciences class, making him the youngest researcher ever admitted to this section.
Extreme Mechanics Letters Cover
The article “Programming the energy landscape of 3D-printed Kresling origami via crease geometry and viscosity” made the cover of the Extreme Mechanics Letters journal.
2025 Westlake Distinguished Fellowship
Dr. Diego Misseroni is the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Fellowship, awarded by the Westlake University, Hangzhou, China.
2025 SES Huajian Gao Young Investigator Medal
Dr. Diego Misseroni is the recipient of the 2025 SES Huajian Gao Young Investigator Medal, awarded by the Society of Engineering Science.
Advanced Science Cover
The article “Functionally-graded serrated fangs allow spiders to mechanically cut silk, carbon and Kevlar fibres” made the cover of the Advanced Science journal.
2024 Thomas J. R. Hughes (ASME) Young Investigator Award
Dr Misseroni is the recipient of the 2024 Thomas J. R. Hughes (ASME) Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
2023 DICAM Teaching Excellence Award
Dr. Diego Misseroni Honored with 2023 DICAM Teaching Excellence Award.
Soft Matter Cover
The article “ Necking of thin-walled cylinders via bifurcation of incompressible nonlinear elastic solids” made the cover of the Soft Matter journal.
Publications
Research articles
Beigrezaee M.J., Jalali S.K., Misseroni D., and Pugno, N. M. (2026). A refined Gibson-Ashby model for functionally graded honeycombs with random irregularities. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 111297.
Nejabatmeimandi M.H., and Dal Corso F. (2025). The broad wrinkling landscape of hyperelastic parallelogram-shaped membranes: From wrinkle migration to restabilization and their subsequent reappearance elsewhere, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 208, 106461.
Gaffney A.D., Liu D., Samal D., Carotenuto A.R., Deseri L., Fraldi M., Lee K.Y.C., Pocivavsek L. and Nguyen, N. (2025). From relaxation to buckling: A continuum elastic framework connecting surface instabilities of highly compressed lipid thin films. PNAS, 122(36), e2502369122.
Bigoni D., Mogilevskaya S.G., Piccolroaz A., Gaibotti M. (2025). The circular disc made of linear elastic incompressible material and the ‘bathyscaphe lesson,’ International Journal of Solids and Structures, 321, 113548.
Zhang Y., Li J., Wu Q., Amabili M., Misseroni D., and Jiang H. (2025). Viscoelastic Structural Damping Enables Broadband Low-Frequency Sound Absorption, PNAS, 122 (43) e2520808122.
Zang S., Zhao T., Misseroni D., and Paulino G.H. (2025). Origami Frustration and Its Influence on Energy Landscapes of Origami Assemblies, PNAS, 122(36), e2426790122.
Mora S.H., Pugno N.P., and Misseroni D. (2025). Programming the Energy Landscape of 3D-Printed Kresling Origami via Crease Geometry and Viscosity. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 102314. Article dataset can be downloaded here.
McInerney J., Misseroni D., Paulino G., Rocklin D. Z., and Mao, X. (2025). Coarse-Grained Fundamental Forms for Characterizing Isometries of Trapezoid-based Origami Metamaterials, Nature Communications, 16(1), 1823.
Cavuoto, R., Deseri, L., & Fraldi, M. (2024). Effects of a nonlocal microstructure on peeling of thin films, Meccanica, 1-15.
Bernard C., Carotenuto A. R., Pugno N. M., Deseri L., and Fraldi, M. (2024). The interplay between membrane viscosity and ligand-binding receptor kinetics in lipid bilayers, Meccanica, 1-23.
Gaibotti M., Mogilevskaya S. G., Piccolroaz A., and Bigoni, D. (2024). Effects of prestress in the coating of an elastic disk, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 295, 112796.
Fortunati A., Misseroni D., Bacigalupo A. (2024) Spectro-hierarchical homogenization scheme for elasto-dynamic problems in periodic Cauchy materials, Applied Mathematical Modelling, 132, 366-383.
Misseroni D., Pratapa P.P., Liu K., Kresling B., Chen Y., Daraio C., Paulino G.H. (2024). Origami Engineering, Nature Review Methods Primer, 4(1) 40.
Outreach articles
Covers
Communication & Dissemination
Conferences & Workshops
Misseroni D. (2026). ‘Programmable Mechanics in Origami Metamaterials.’ IUTAM Symposium on new avenues in mechanics of solids: exploring opportunities at multi-physics cross-roads, Cambridge (UK), April 19-22.
Dal Corso F. (2026). ‘Bifurcations and wrinkling instabilities (and restabilization) in ultra-thin parallelogram-shaped hyperelastic membranes.’ Mathematical Horizons Symposium, Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, Doha (Qatar), Feb 9.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Programming shape, stability, and function in origami metamaterials.’ Workshop on Complex materials for civil and environmental engineering, Milan (Italy), November 24.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Controlling the folding sequence of origami assemblies through frustration.’ 2025 SES Annual Technical Meeting, Atlanta (US), October 12-15. G. I. Taylor Medalist Symposium (Invited Only).
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Programming the energy landscape of 3D-Printed Kresling origami via crease geometry and viscosity.’ 2025 SES Annual Technical Meeting, Atlanta (US), October 12-15. Y. Huang Engineering Science Medalist Symposium (Invited Only).
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Cloaking-enhanced metastructure for tunable vibration control and energy harvesting.’ 2025 SES Annual Technical Meeting, Atlanta (US), October 12-15. SES Honorary Symposium, as a recipient of the 2025 SES Huajian Gao Young Investigator Medal (Invited Only).
Lahiri A. (2025) ‘Improving Mass and Stiffness parameters of Bar and Hinge models for Modal Dynamics of Origami structures.’ 2025 SES Annual Technical Meeting, Atlanta (US), October 12-15.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Multifunctional metastructure enabling vibration suppression and energy harvesting.’ The 3rd International Conference on Mechanical System Dynamics, Cluj-Napoca (Romania), September 23-27.
Xia G. (2025) ‘Indentation on Soft Electroactive Media.’ The Fifth International Conference on Simulation for Additive Manufacturing, Pavia (Italy), September 9-11.
Lahiri A. (2025) ‘Bar-and-Hinge Framework for Modal Analysis of Origami Structures.’ The Fifth International Conference on Simulation for Additive Manufacturing, Pavia (Italy), September 9-11.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Multifunctional Metastructure: Cloaking, Vibration Control, and Energy Harvesting.’ Symposium on Energy Harvesting Dynamics under Kinematic and Flow Excitation, WEBINAR, Lublin University of Technology, Lublin (Poland), July 1-3.
Dal Corso F. (2025). ‘Wrinkling, restabilization, and second wrinkling of stretched hyperelastic parallelogram-shaped membranes.’ HICOMP2025 – 1st Hellenic-Italian Conference on Computational Mechanics, Biomechanics, and Mechanics of Materials, Rhodes (Greece) June 19-21.
Dal Corso F. (2025) ‘Wrinkling restabilization and secondary wrinkling in quasi-rectangular membrane.’ APCS2025 – 14th Asian Pacific Conference on Shell and Spatial Structures, Kanazawa (Japan), June 9-12.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Adaptive Metamaterials and Multifunctional Metastructures.’ The 15th Workshop on mechanics of new materials and innovative structural design, She County, Anhu (China), July 1-3.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Cloaking, vibration suppression, and energy harvesting in metastructures.’ XX International symposium on dynamic problems of mechanics (XX DINAME), Águas de Lindóia, São Paulo (Brazil), March 9-14.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Origami-Inspired Metamaterials and Structures: Theory, Simulations and Experimental Validation.’ AIMETA 2024 – Associazione Italiana di Meccanica Teorica e Applicata, Napoli (Italy), September 2-6.
Misseroni D. (2024). ‘Exploring multistability in 3d printed Kresling structures: influence of crease geometry and viscosity,’ ICTAM – The International Congress in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Daegu (Republic of Korea), August 25–30.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Exploring Tunable Poisson’s Ratio in Origami Metamaterials.’ META 2024 14th International Conference on Metamaterials, Photonic Crystals and Plasmonics, Toyama (Japan), July 16-19.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Experiments on Origami-Based Metamaterials and Structures.’ 2024 SES Annual Technical Meeting, Hangzhou (China), August 20-23. EML 10th Anniversary Symposium (Invitation Only)
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Unveiling Complex Mechanics of Kresling Origami.’ AUXETIC 2024 11th International Conference Auxetics and other materials and models with “negative” characteristics, Poznan (Poland), June 17-21.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Geometric Mechanics of Origami Metamaterials with Tunable Poisson’s Ratio.’ 2024 ProHyp – Perspectives on Multiphase Fluid Dynamics, Continuum Mechanics and Hyperbolic Balance Laws, Trento (Italy), April 22-26.
Seminars
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Adaptive metamaterials and metastructures with programmable and reprogrammable mechanics.’ Westlake University, Hangzhou (China), July 14.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Adaptive metamaterials and metastructures.’ Southeast University, Nanjing (China), July 10.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Origami Metamaterials and Kresling Structures: Theoretical and Experimental Insights.’ Fudan University, Fudan (China), June 25.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Metamaterials for engineering: Origami design and cloaking innovation for advanced applications.’ Westlake University, Hangzhou (China), Marc 24.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Controlling the folding sequence of origami assemblies through frustration.’ Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA), University of Houston, Houston (USA), WEBINAR, February 26.
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Kresling origami with programmable frustration.’ University of Pavia, Pavia (Italy), January 15.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Origami Metamaterials and Kresling Structures: Theoretical and Experimental Insights.’ University of Southampton, Southampton (UK), November 6.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Origami Metamaterials with Adjustable Mechanical Properties.’ Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union, Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA), WEBINAR, October 8.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘The Fusion of Origami Art and Engineering Innovation.’ Physics Colloquia, Department of Physics, Trento (Italy), Spetember 12.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Theoretical Insights and Experimental Validation of Origami Metamaterials.’ Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Kyoto University, (Japan), July 11.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Origami Metamaterials and Structures: Theoretical Insights and Experimental Validation.’ Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, (Japan), July 9.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Experiments on Origami Metamaterials.’ Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (India), March 28.
Outreach
Misseroni D., Lahiri A., Xia G., Juliano S., Toofani A., and Wang S. (2025) ‘Ingegneria ispirata dagli origami.’ Demo and Hands on – “2025 BRIGHT-NIGHT,” Lucca (Italy), September 26.
Misseroni D., Lahiri A., Xia G., Juliano S., Toofani A., and Wang S. (2025) ‘ORIGAMI: L’arte che ispira l’ingegneria del futuro’ Exhibit at the exhibition “Opere d’Ingegno” promoted by the “Cultural Committee” of the Order of Engineers of Trento at “Roccabruna Palace,” Trento (Italy), June 24 – July 30.
Misseroni D. (2025). ‘An inside look at my ERC grant experience,’ Seminar to ERC applicants, University of Trento (Italy), June 18.
Misseroni D., Lahiri A., Xia G., Juliano S., Toofani A., and Wang S. (2024) ‘Alla scoperta del magico mondo degli origami.’ Demo and Hands on – “2024 BRIGHT-NIGHT,” Lucca (Italy), September 27.
Misseroni D. (2024). ‘Insights from My ERC Grant Experience,’ Seminar to ERC applicants, University of Trento (Italy), June 4.
Misseroni D. (2024) ‘Materiali estremi ispirati dall’arte degli origami.’ Wired Next Fest 2024, Rovereto (Italy), September 29
Highlights & Impact
Scientific events
Workshop @ PoliMI
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Programming shape, stability, and function in origami metamaterials.’
SES 2025 – Y. Huang Medalist Symposium
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Programming the energy landscape of 3D-Printed Kresling origami via crease geometry and viscosity.’ Y. Huang Engineering Science Medalist Symposium (Invited Only).
SES 2025
Lahiri A. (2025) ‘Improving Mass and Stiffness parameters of Bar and Hinge models for Modal Dynamics of Origami structures.’
SES 2025 – Honorary Symposium
Misseroni D. (2025) ‘Cloaking-enhanced metastructure for tunable vibration control and energy harvesting.’ 2025 SES Huajian Gao Young Investigator Medal (Invited Only).
Public events
BRIGHT-NIGHT 2025
Misseroni D., Lahiri A., Xia G., Juliano S., Toofani A., and Wang S. 'Ingegneria ispirata dagli origami.'
Exhibition “Opere d’Ingegno”
Misseroni D., Lahiri A., Xia G., Juliano S., Toofani A., and Wang S. (2025) ‘ORIGAMI: L’arte che ispira l’ingegneria del futuro.’ Promoted by the “Cultural Committee” of the Order of Engineers of Trento.
Wired Next Fest 2024
Materiali estremi ispirati dall’arte degli origami.
BRIGHT-NIGHT 2024
Misseroni D., Lahiri A., Xia G., Juliano S., Toofani A., and Wang S. 'Alla scoperta del magico mondo degli origami.'
Press releases
Il Dolomiti highlights origami-inspired robotics’ industrial potential
Il Dolomiti reports that the University of Trento’s Flexgrip project, led by Diego Misseroni, has won a European Research Council Proof of Concept g...
L’Adige: Gli “origami” trentini premiati
L’Adige reports on Diego Misseroni’s European Research Council Proof of Concept award for developing origami-inspired robotic grippers. The articl...
Le pinze «spaziali» che si muovono seguendo le regole degli origami
Corriere del Trentino reports that the University of Trento’s Flexgrip project — led by Diego Misseroni — has secured a European Research Counci...
“La Voce del Trentino” covers ERC award
The Italian online newspaper La Voce del Trentino features Diego Misseroni’s ERC Proof of Concept award, emphasizing the scientific excellence and i...
EurekAlert! spotlights ERC award for origami-inspired robotics
EurekAlert! reports that Diego Misseroni’s Flexgrip project at the University of Trento has received a European Research Council Proof of Concept gr...
ANSA reports ERC Proof of Concept success for Flexgrip
ANSA reports on the European Research Council Proof of Concept award granted to Diego Misseroni for the Flexgrip project at the University of Trento. ...
RaiNews reports European award for origami-inspired robotics
RaiNews highlights that Diego Misseroni from the University of Trento has won a prestigious European Research Council Proof of Concept grant for his F...
Flexgrip di unitn vince un european research council proof of concept
The Italian news outlet Telepace Trento reports that Diego Misseroni’s project Flexgrip at the University of Trento has been awarded a prestigious E...
L’Europa premia gli origami “made” in UniTrento
The University of Trento announces that Professor Diego Misseroni has won a prestigious European Research Council Proof of Concept grant for his Flexg...
Misseroni accademico europeo | UniTrentoMag
UniTrentoMag reports that Diego Misseroni, Professor at the University of Trento, has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in the...
T Quotidiano: International recognition for metamaterials research
In an interview with T Quotidiano, Diego Misseroni discusses his award of the SES Huajian Gao Young Investigator Medal, one of the most prestigious di...
Metamateriali da record | UniTrentoMag
UniTrentoMag highlights that Professor Diego Misseroni has earned a major international accolade — the 2025 SES Huajian Gao Young Investigator Medal...
GQ Italia at Wired Next Fest Trentino 2024 – Diego Misseroni featured speaker
GQ Italia lists the Wired Next Fest Trentino 2024 programme, one of Italy’s largest free innovation and technology festivals in Rovereto (with over ...
Il Sole 24 Ore – Scenari: Origami-inspired metamaterials
n Scenari, the special supplement of Il Sole 24 Ore, Diego Misseroni’s ERC project S-Foam is featured as an example of cutting-edge research at the ...
La magia di una piega | UniTrentoMag
UniTrentoMag explores how Professor Diego Misseroni uses the ancient art of origami and kirigami to design metamaterials with extreme and adaptable me...
NOS Magazine: Diego Misseroni, un nuovo riconoscimento ‘mondiale’
NOS Magazine reports that Professor Diego Misseroni of the University of Trento has been awarded the Thomas J. R. Hughes Young Investigator Award 2024...
Meccanica applicata da podio mondiale | UniTrentoMag
UniTrentoMag reports that Professor Diego Misseroni has achieved a top-tier global ranking in the field of applied mechanics, earning recognition amon...
L’Adige: dagli origami ai metamateriali
L’Adige reports on Diego Misseroni’s international recognition with the ZwickRoell Science Award, highlighting his pioneering research that bridge...
Diego Misseroni e le nuove macchine di prova
UniTrentoMag highlights how Professor Diego Misseroni is advancing experimental mechanics with the development of new testing machines at the Universi...
Il T Quotidiano reports ERC milestone for UniTrento
Il T Quotidiano notes that the University of Trento’s research continues to succeed at the European level, with Diego Misseroni among the winners of...
