What if our Materials go from purely existing to acting?
At the CNIT Lab, we explore the frontiers of adaptive and smart materials, combining chemistry, physics, and engineering to create solutions for tomorrow. Our main research focus is on the design and synthesis of materials that respond to their environment in novel and useful ways. By harnessing molecular forces and interactions, we program behavior that scales from the nanoscale to macroscopic function. Many of our systems go beyond single-input responses, embracing multistate behavior and overlapping stimuli to create richer, more tunable response dynamics. We love to play with light, shape, and function!
Fiat Lux – Light responsive molecules and materials
We develop molecules that respond to light with precise changes in structure or properties, and we scale these responses into functional materials. This approach powers applications in soft robotics, sensors, and dynamic systems. Our research connects organic synthesis and mechanistic insight with material architecture and device design.
Dynamic Matter – Where Molecules Shape Material Properties
We study how light-responsive molecules embedded in structured materials give rise to dynamic behavior. By controlling interactions at the molecular level, we tune phase transitions, manipulate local order, and drive changes in material properties. Our work explores how stimuli—especially light—can modulate structure and function in soft, responsive systems, laying the groundwork for materials that adapt, reorganize, or shift state on demand.
Soft Systems – Where Materials Become Agents
We design materials that operate beyond simple stimulus-response, enabling multistate behavior through layered and interacting stimuli. By embracing non-orthogonality—where inputs overlap, compete, or cooperate—we unlock complex, history-dependent functions. These systems respond differently depending on context, sequence, and state, mimicking aspects of agency through chemical and mechanical interplay.