University of Trento, Italy
Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering

Laboratory
of Bio-inspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta
Materials & Mechanics

Nicola Pugno

Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at the University of Trento;
Part-time Professor of Materials Science at the Queen Mary University of London;
Principal Investigator of the Graphene Flagship at the Ket Lab of the Edoardo Amaldi Foundation.

Address:	Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale e Meccanica Università di Trento, via Mesiano, 77 I-38123 Trento (Italia)
Office location:	III piano, Stanza 328
Tel:	+39 0461 282525
Mob:	+39 338 6275625
Fax:	+39 0461 282599
E-mail:	nicola.pugno@unitn.it
Skype:	nicola.pugno

Publications

Full list of publications

SELECTED PAPERS

A. Carpinteri, N. Pugno. Are the scaling laws on strength of solids related to mechanics or to geometry?, NATURE MATERIALS (2005), 4, 421-423.
S.W. Cranford, A. Tarakanova, N. Pugno, M.J. Buehler. Nonlinear material behaviour of spider silk yields robust webs, NATURE (2012), 482, 72-78. Cover Story and 18 pages of Supplementary Information, DOI 10.1038/nature10739.
P. H. Tan, W. P. Han, W. J. Zhao, Z. H. Wu, K. Chang, H. Wang, Y. F. Wang, N. Bonini, N. Marzari, N. Pugno, G. Savini, A. Lombardo, A. C. Ferrari. The shear mode of multi-layer graphene, NATURE MATERIALS (2012), 11, 294-300.
J. Zang, Q. Wang, Q. Tu, S. Ryu, N. Pugno, M. Buehler, X. Zhao. Multifunctionality and control of the crumpling and unfolding of large-area graphene, NATURE MATERIALS (2013), 12, 321-325.
S. Lin, S. Ryu, O. Tokareva, G. Gronau, M.M. Jakobsen, W. Huang, D.J. Rizzo, D. Li, C. Staii, N. Pugno, J.Y. Wong, D.L. Kaplan, M.J. Buehler. Predictive modelling-based design and experiments for synthesis and spinning of bioinspired silk fibres. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2015) 6, 6892.
R. Meija, S. Signetti, A. Schuchardt, K. Meurisch, D. Smazna, M. Mecklenburg, K. Schulte, D. Erts, O. Lupan, B. Fiedler, Y.K. Mishra, R. Adelung, N. Pugno. Nanomechanics of individual aerographite tetrapods. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2017), 8, 14982.
G. Nardone, J.O.-De La Cruz, J. Vrbsky, C. Martini, J. Pribyl, P. Skládal, M. Pešl, G. Caluori, S. Pagliari, F. Martino, Z. Maceckova, M. Hajduch, A. Sanz-Garcia, N. Pugno, G.B. Stokin, G. Forte. YAP regulates cell mechanics by controlling focal adhesion assembly. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2017), 8, 15321.
F. Schütt, S. Signetti, H. Krüger, S. Röder, D. Smazna, S. Kaps, S.N. Gorb, Y.K. Mishra, N. Pugno, R. Adelung. Hierarchical self-entangled carbon nanotube tube networks. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2017), 8, 1215.
I. Polishchuk, A.A. Bracha, L. Bloch, D. Levy, S. Kozachkevich, Y. Etinger-Geller, Y. Kauffmann, M. Burghammer, C. Giacobbe, J. Villanova, G. Hendler, C.-Y. Sun, A.J. Giuffre, M.A. Marcus, L. Kundanati, P. Zaslansky, N. Pugno, P.U.P.A. Gilbert, A. Katsman, B. Pokroy. Coherently aligned nanoparticles with a biogenic single crystal: A biological prestressing strategy. SCIENCE (2017), 358, 1294-1298.
S. Elsharkawy, M. Al-Jawad, M.F. Pantano, E. Tejeda-Montes, K. Mehta, H. Jama, S. Agarwal, K. Shuturminska1, A. Rice, N.V. Tarakina, R.M. Wilson, A.J. Bushby, M. Alonso, J.C. Rodriguez-Cabello, E. Barbieri, A. del RÃo Hernández, M.M. Stevens, N. Pugno, P. Anderson, A. Mata. Protein disorder-order interplay to guide the growth of hierarchical mineralized structures. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2018), 9, 2145.
D.G. Purdie, N. Pugno, T. Taniguchi, K. Watanabe, A.C. Ferrari, A. Lombardo. Cleaning interfaces in layered materials heterostructures. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2018), 9, 5387.

News

Prof. Nicola Maria Pugno, to commemorate Leonardo da Vinci (also considered the father of Bioinspiration and Biomimetics) 500 years from his death, proposes the texts prepared by Prof. Giuseppe Maria Pugno, in the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's birth, in 1952 and others related to Solid and Structural Mechanics.

Giuseppe Maria Pugno.
Da Dante a Leonardo (Sguardo alla storia del pensiero scientifico di due secoli).
Atti e rassegna tecnica della società degli ingegneri e degli architetti in Torino, 1956, 6 (5), 140-150.
Giuseppe Maria Pugno.
I codici vinciani e la scienza delle costruzioni.
Atti del convegno nazionale per l'istruzione dei geometri e dei periti edili, 1948, 1-39.
Giuseppe Maria Pugno.
Leonardo da Vinci ed Enrico Betti.
Ruata, 1952, 1-9.
Giuseppe Maria Pugno.
Leonardo e le macchine.
Atti della società degli ingegneri e degli architetti in Torino, 1956, 10 (3), 73-82.
Giuseppe Maria Pugno.
Da Dante a Leonardo, sviluppo bicentenario del pensiero scientifico.
Conferenza tenuta nell'aula magna delle scuole di applicazione d'arma, 1959, 1-28.

Bio-Inspired and Nanoengineering Consulting @ University of Trento We have created a team of Engineers, Technologists, Scientists and Medical Doctors for finding ultimate solutions for High-Tech Industries.

Prof. Pugno academic visitor to the Department of Materials, University of Oxford, for the period 1 December 2018 - 30 November 2022.
Prof. Pugno co-organizer of the "Computational mechanics and multiscale modeling in manufacturing of low-dimensional materials and structures" Symposium at the 14th World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM XIV). 19-24 July 2020, Paris, France.
Prof. Pugno on the regional TV news Buongiorno Regione Trentino Alto Adige (20:50) and TGR Trentino (08:10) talking about BOHEME - Bio-Inspired Hierarchical MetaMaterials, 31 January 2020. Download video [In Italian]

The Kickoff meeting of BOHEME - Bio-Inspired Hierarchical MetaMaterials was held in Trento. On the same occasion, a new name is given to the laboratory of Prof. Pugno: "LB²NM³ - Laboratory of Bio-inspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta Materials & Mechanics". Trento, 23, 24 January 2020. Photo Gallery

ANSA press release about the fall of a meteor in Italy during New Year's Eve [in Italian]. The meteor observations in Italy are made and coordinated by PRISMA. For recent news about the research on Meteors see the Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference 2018.
Prof. Pugno co-organizer of the Mechanics of Nanocomposites and Hybrid Materials Symposium (see in PDF) at the 2019 MRS Fall Meeting. Making a keynote speach "The Leonardo da Vinci's Legacy, 500 Years After His Death". 1-6 December 2019, Boston, USA.
Prof. Pugno co-organizer of the Workshop on Advances in Numerical Modelling of Adhesion and Friction, dedicated by Prof. Pugno to Leonardo da Vinci in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of his death. 18-19 November 2019, Trento, Italy.
Prof. Pugno interviewed by the national newspaper "Corriere della Sera" regarding the "Vibrobug" project. La sostenibilità parte dal vino [in italian], 29 October 2019, Trento, Italy.
Prof. Pugno interviewed by the local newspaper "L'Adige" regarding the FET OPEN grant "Bhoeme", Bio-Inspired Hierarchical MetaMaterial. Mesiano, uomini del ragno da premio [in italian], 1 August 2019, Trento, Italy.
Congratulations to Luigi Calabrese for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "Development of Devices Based on Electrically Actuated Soft Elastomers", 24 July 2019, Trento, Italy.
Congratulations to David Novel for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "Mechanical and physical characterization of graphene composites", 24 July 2019, Trento, Italy.

Protein disorder-order interplay to guide the growth of hierarchical mineralized structures is the most read Nature Communications chemistry and materials science article published in 2018.
Frontiers journals lead in citations and rank at the top of impact metrics. Frontiers in Materials has a new Impact Factor of 2.689.
Prof. Pugno in the scientific committee of Graphene 2019, 25-28 June 2019, Rome, Italy.
Prof. Pugno co-chair with Prof. Motta, and with PhD Student of the Lab Gabriele Greco in the Local Committee, of the Frontiers in Silk Science and Technologies - 3rd Trento Innovation Conference on Material Engineering (TICME), 12-15 June 2019, Trento, Italy. Making a keynote speach titled "Spider lifting". Co-guest editor of the related special issue on Frontiers in Silk Science and Technologies
(Programme PDF)
Press release by the University of Trento [in Italian]
Press article by Agenzia ANSA titled Dai cammelli alle meduse, l'arca di Noè dei biomateriali, regarding the work of Prof. Pugno and Prof. Motta [In Italian].
Prof. Pugno member of the Local committee of RAMSS 2019 - RECENT ADVANCES IN MECHANICS OF SOLIDS AND STRUCTURES and speaker: "Could a spider lift Davide Bigoni?". 6-7 June 2019, Trento, Italy. (Programme PDF)
Congratulations to Martina Azzolini for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "Monte Carlo simulations of electron transport in 3D solids and Molecular Dynamics simulations of the mechanics of 2D materials", 29 May 2019, Trento, Italy.
Congratulations to Tommaso Morresi for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "From atoms to extended structures via ab-initio and multi-scale simulations", 29 May 2019, Trento, Italy.
Informative lecture for kids about spider mechanics and spider lifting held by N. Pugno and G. Greco for the 4th grade students of the primary school "Istituto Sacro Cuore". A mechanical experiment was shown thanks to the setup realized by D. Misseroni. 22 May 2019, Trento, Italy.
Patent on mechanical characterization of nanomaterials by M. Pantano, N. Pugno and G. Speranza chosen as one of the most promising italian projects at InnovAgorà, 7 May 2019, Milan, Italy.
Congratulations to Roberto Guarino for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "Modelling and Simulation in Tribology of Complex Interfaces", 2 May 2019, Trento, Italy.
PRIN 2017 grant by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, Università e Ricerca coordinated by Prof. Pugno
Prof. Pugno in the Advisory Editorial Board of Matter.
Configurational switching in living cells featured on ANSA, Italia2TV, Notizie Ora, L'Adige [in Italian]. Watch related video [in Italian]. See related paper.
PhD student of the Lab Benedetta Calusi interviewed on root growth in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 21 November 2018. Link [from min 19:25].
PhD student of the Lab Simone Ghio interviewed on bio-inspired surfaces in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 16 November 2018. Link [from min 18:50].
PhD student of the Lab Alice Berardo interviewed on knots in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 14 November 2018. Link [from min 28:05].
PhD student of the Lab Roberto Guarino interviewed on spider sensors in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 9 November 2018. Link [from min 20:00].
PhD student of the Lab Gabriele Greco interviewed on spider silk and webs in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 5 November 2018. Link [from min 21:25].
PhD student of the Lab Luigi Calabrese interviewed on robotics in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 31 October 2018. Link [from min 19:55].
PhD student of the Lab Gabriele Greco interviewed on spiders in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 26 October 2018. Link [from min 19:35].
Dr. Bosia interviewed on metamaterials in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 24 October 2018. Link [from min 04:55].
Prof. Pugno interviewed on bio-inspired nanomechanics in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 19 October 2018. Link [from min 19:05].
Researcher of the Lab Dr. Maria F. Pantano interviewed on MEMS in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 10 October 2018. Link [from min 04:30].
Prof. Pugno interviewed on graphene nanomechanics in Memex - Galileo [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 3 October 2018. Link [from min 19:45].
Frontiers in Materials has received its 2017 Impact Factor of 2.008.
PhD and PostDoc positions available at Quantum Science and Technology in Trento, Italy.
Multilayer stag beetle elytra mechanical properties featured on ANSA, Sky TG24, Corriere del Trentino, La Voce del Trentino [in Italian]. See related paper.
Superior mechanical performance of folded graphene featured on nanowerk, Phys.org. See related paper.
Growth of hieararchical mineralized materials through protein order-disorder interplay, highlighted on Phys.org, DailyMail. In Italian: Alto Adige, l'Adige. In Spanish: El Pais. See related paper.
Low-frequency sound control by means of bio-inspired and fractal designs, highlight on acoustics.org. See related papers: 1, 2.
Prof. Pugno co-guest editor with Dr. Bosia of the special issue "Bioinspired dry and wet adhesion" on Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.
Prof. Pugno particpant in the Frontiers Forum 2018, 22-24 June 2018, Verbier, Switzerland.
Congratulations to Alice Berardo for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "A numerical and experimental study on the friction of complex surfaces", 14 June 2018, Trento, Italy.
Congratulations to Benedetta Calusi for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "Penetration mechanics of plant roots and related inspired robots", 14 June 2018, Trento, Italy.
Prof. Pugno invited ERC grantee at the Transport Research Arena 2018, 16-19 April 2018, Wien, Austria.
Congratulations to Simone Ghio for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "Design and microfabrication of multifunctional bio-inspired surfaces", 9 April 2018, Trento, Italy.
Congratulations to Andrea Pedrielli for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "Modeling and simulations of low dimensional and nanostructured systems of the nanoscale", 9 April 2018, Trento, Italy.
Prof. Pugno interview on bionic silk on Zoomin.TV. Video. [in Italian].
Prof. Pugno interview on the aerographite tetrapods at Smart City on Radio 24, 12 January 2018 [in Italian].
Brittle starfish inspires tough ceramics, highlight on ScienceDaily, QMUL. In Italian: MeteoWeb, ANSA. See related paper.
Prof. Pugno interview on the brittle starfish at Smart City on Radio 24, 8 December 2017 [in Italian].
Patent on mechanical characterization of nanomaterials granted (priority date 28 September 2017). Link.
2D material armors featured on ANSA [in Italian]. See related paper.
Hierarchical self-entangled carbon nanotube tube networks featured on ANSA [in Italian]. See related paper.
Prof. Pugno interviewed on travel design.
Dr. Federico Bosia interviewed on Unica Radio, 10 November 2017 [in Italian].
Spider weight lifting featured on ANSA, Il Mattino, La Stampa, Trentino, Il Secolo XIX [in Italian]. See related paper.
Spider web labyrinthine metamaterials featured on Phys.org, Materials World. See related paper.
Conductive paraffin/graphene composites featured on c&en. See related paper.
Prof. Pugno co-guest editor with Dr. Bosia and Prof. Fraldi of the special issue "Mechanics of Extreme Materials" on Meccanica.
Prof. Pugno co-guest editor with Prof. Valentini of the special issue "Mechanics, Electrical and Optical Properties of Nano-Thin Films" on Nanomaterials.
Prof. Pugno in the local organizing committee and co-organizer of the mini-symposia "Graphene and related materials and systems" and "Mechanics of silk: from molecules to orb-webs" at the 10th European Solid Mechanics Conference, 2-6 July 2018, Bologna, Italy. Flyer.
Prof. Pugno in the scientific committee and organizer of the mini-symposium "Mechanics of extreme materials: graphene-related, composite, meta- and biological/bioinspired materials" at the 1st International Conference on Materials, Mimicking, Manufacturing from and for Bio Application, 27-29 June 2018, Milan, Italy. Flyer.
Prof. Pugno in the international advisory board of the "6th International Conference Novel Functional Carbon Nanomaterials" of the 8th Forum on New Materials at CIMTEC 2018, 10-14 June 2018, Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy.
Prof. Pugno co-guest editor with Prof. Valentini of the "Focus Collection on Bionic Nanotechnology" on Nanotechnology.
Prof. Pugno co-chair with Prof. Nicolosi of the Winter School on structural characterization of graphene-based materials, 5-10 February 2018, Obergurgl, Austria. Flyer. Programme.
Prof. Pugno jury member of the South Tyrol Scientific Award.
Prof. Pugno, Fellow of the Young Academy of Europe since 2013, has been invited to join in 2017 the EU Academy of Sciences (EUAS).
Prof. Pugno invited at the Nano2All - Societal engagement on responsible nanotechnology stakeholder congress (and replaced by PhD Student of the Lab Roberto Guarino), 21 October 2017, Trento, Italy. Website. Flyer.
Frontiers - Driving innovation and quality in scholarly publishing seminar, 18 October 2017, Trento, Italy.
Prof. Pugno scientific coordinator of the Graphene Composite Innovation Day, 12 October 2017, Trento, Italy. Highlight on L'Adigetto, Trentino [in Italian].
Prof. Pugno appointed as new Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Materials. Press release.
Prof. Pugno interviewed in Memex - I luoghi della scienza [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 26 September 2017. Link [from min 12:30].
PhD Student of the Lab Gabriele Greco interviewed in Memex Doc - L'uomo dei ragni [in Italian], Rai Scuola, 17 September 2017. Video.
Prof. Pugno interviewed on UniTrentoMag [in Italian], 14 September 2017.
Spider silk turns bionic through nanomaterials highlighted on Phys.org, The Sydney Morning Herald, CBC Radio, Graphene Flagship News, ScienceDaily, Science Newsline, Mail Online, Futurism, ZDNet, cemag.us, GIZMODO, NEW ATLAS, scimex, Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In Italian: La Repubblica (pdf), il Dolomiti. In Spanish: Computer Hoy. In Danish: illvid.dk. See related paper.
Highlight on the Lab research activities [in Italian], 1 August 2017. Article.
Congratulations to Stefano Signetti for having successfully defended his PhD thesis on "Computational models for impact mechanics and related protective materials and structures", 29 June 2017, Trento, Italy. Video.
Prof. Pugno particpant in the Frontiers Chief Editor Summit 2017, 16-18 June 2017, Champéry, Switzerland. Program.
Prof. Pugno comments a research work on octopus-inspired adhesives, 14 June 2017.
Fermented graphene composite foams featured on nanowerk. See related paper.
Prof. Pugno awarded with the "2017 Griffith Medal & Prize", highlighted on QMUL press release [1], QMUL press release [2], QMUL, @ERC_Research. In Italian: UniTrentoMag, il Dolomiti, scienzadellecostruzioni-segreteria.it [1], scienzadellecostruzioni-segreteria.it [2], ASI. See related Wikipedia page.
Invited at the IOM3 Premier Awards Dinner, 11 July 2017, London, UK. Picture 1. Picture 2. Picture 3. Picture 4. Picture 5.
PhD Student of the Lab Stefano Signetti contributes to the study of the nanomechanics of individual aerographite tetrapods. In Italian: UniTN, UniTN press release, ANSA, il Dolomiti, La Voce del Trentino, MeteoWeb, L'Adige, askanews.it, Buongiorno Südtirol, OcaSapiens (la Repubblica). In English: Research Italy, Phys.org, nanowerk, Uni Kiel press. In German: idw. Picture 1, picture 2, picture 3, picture 4. See related paper. Interview on Radio Popolare, 14/04/2017 [in Italian, from min. 23:45].
Prof. Pugno interviewed in Biomimetica - Il meccanismo della vita [in Italian], Rai Scuola.
Researcher of the Lab Dr. Maria F. Pantano wins the First Prize in the "2016 Zwick Science Award Competition" for her contribution to the design of MEMS for the tensile testing of nanomaterials. Picture 1. Picture 2.
Conductive graphene-based inks highlighted on Materials World magazine. See related paper.
H2020 FET Proactive project NEUROFIBRES "Biofunctionalised Electroconducting Microfibres for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury" (2017-2020) just started. In Spanish: infomédula. In Italian: UniTN press release, Trentino, Corriere del Trentino, il Dolomiti, Galileo, Il Foglietto. Prof. Pugno interview on Radio 24, 04/04/2017 [in Italian].
ERC Starting Grant project BIHSNAM "Bio-Inspired Hierarchical Super Nanomaterials" (2012-2016) just concluded, with 141 papers published in international journals and cited 2239 times, with an average Impact Factor of 4.345 and a cumulative Impact Factor of 612.599, see details. Open source codes available by contacting nicola.pugno@unitn.it: fracture (hierarchical fibre bundle model, hierarchical lattice spring model), friction (spring-block model), adhesion (multpile peeling code), impact (multilayer impact code). We thank again ERC for having provided the "Equipment to Run the Competition". Highlight on TuttoScienze (La Stampa) [in Italian].
Prof. Pugno co-organizer of the mini-symposium "Mechanics of extreme materials: graphene-related, composite, meta- and biological/bioinspired materials" at the XXIII Conference - The Italian Association of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, 4-7 September 2017, Salerno, Italy. Program.
The GBDT (Graphene-Based Thermal Detector) project featured on the TIFPA Activity Report 2015-16.
Congratulations to Dr. Federico Bosia for the "2016 Most Prolific Author Award" at the Solid State Physics Group of the University of Turin, Italy. Picture. Short interview on ERC participation [in Italian].
Rosita and its friends have joined the Lab: One hundred and one spiders.

Grammostola rosea is a beautiful 16-year-old spider, the first of the one hundred and one spiders of the Rosita's group. [Responsible: G. Greco]
Rudolph's antlers inspire next generation of unbreakable materials on Fox News, ScienceDaily, EurekAlert!, siliconrepublic. In Italian: Corriere della Sera, Sky TG24, MeteoWeb. See related paper.
Prof. Pugno mentioned as winner of a Horizon 2020 Proof of Concept. In Italian: L'Adigetto.it, 22 December 2016.
Prof. Pugno jury member of the South Tyrol Scientific Award, 15 December 2016.
La Crisis de la Razón by Pablo Domínguez Prieto [in Spanish], discussion as last lesson of the Solid Mechanics course, 14 December 2016, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
Interview for the UnitrentoMag Metamateriali: potranno aiutarci a difenderci dai terremoti? [in Italian], 10 November 2016.
The Lab research activities on spider silks and webs mentioned on Sette (Corriere della Sera) [in Italian], 4 November 2016.
Graphene helps silicone rubber composites heal on Materials Today. See related paper.
Large scale mechanical metamaterials as seismic shields highlighted on IOP, JPhys+, Phys.org, EurekAlert!, ScienceDaily, E&T, Physics World, The Engineer, Geology Page. In Italian: LSWN, Origami (La Stampa), UniTrentoMag. In German: planeterde. In Portoguese: INOVAÇÃO tecnólogica. See related paper.
Spider web-inspired acoustic metamaterials highlighted on Phys.org, SCIENCENEWS Journal, FCC Public, SONIC-SHIELD. In German: pressetext. In French: Futura Sciences. In Chinese: cailiaoniu.com. In Turkish: Kymia Haberleri. See related paper.
E-letter on Science Advances: Evidence of self-inconsistent sections in "Toughness of carbon nanotubes conforms to classic fracture mechanics".
International Workshop Advances in mechanical metamaterials, 10-11 October 2016, University of Trento, Trento, Italy. Programme. Book of abstracts.
The Laboratory of Bio-Inspired & Graphene Nanomechanics at Vivi Park, 24-25 September 2016, Trento, Italy. Flyer [in Italian].
Falling Walls Lab Naples, 20 September 2016, Napoli, Italy. Flyer.
4th International Conference on Nanomechanics and Composites, 14-17 September 2016, Vicenza, Italy.
Secondo Natura. Prof. Pugno mentioned on La Repubblica [in Italian], 10 Semptember 2016.
Prof. Pugno organizer of the mini-symposium "Computational bio and bio-inspired mechanics from nano to micro" at The 12th World Congress on Computational Mechanics, 24-29 July 2016, Seoul, Korea.
PhD Student of the Lab David Novel wins the Poster Award at the Graphene Conference 2016 with his research on graphene reinforced nanofibres. Highlight on UniTrentoMag [in italian].
Graphene Conference 2016, 19-22 April 2016, Genova, Italy. Programme.

Video Animation about the work and opportunities offered by the ERC, including the spider web research of Prof. Pugno. Short presentation. Full video.
L'affascinante mondo dei materiali bio-inspirati. The Laboratory of Bio-Inspired and Graphene Nanomechanics highlighted on Le Scienze [In Italian].
Prof. Pugno in the Organizing Commettee of the 4th International Conference on Nanomechanics and Nanocomposites, 14-17 September 2016, Genova, Italy.
ERC Grants at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento.
Spiders Ingest Nanotubes, Then Weave Silk Reinforced with Carbon on "Best of 2015" of MIT Technology Review.
Tecnologia Made in Italy Prof. Pugno interview on Radio Made in Italy [in Italian, from min. 6.02 to min. 10.45].
Bionic spider webs and other super-materials on the European Commission Newspaper [see pag. 42].
Interview to Prof. Pugno featured in Beyond carbon fiber: What will be the fibers of choice for future composites?.
Prof. Pugno in the Organizing Commettee of Graphene 2016, 19-22 April 2016, Genova, Italy.
Call for abstracts: Computational Bio and Bio-inspired Mechanics from Nano to Micro at the 12th World Congress on Computational Mechanics. 24-29 July 2016, Seoul (Korea). Deadline for abstract submission: 30 November 2015.
Prof. Pugno winner of the third ERC Proof of Concept.
The project Rubber-based soles for winter sports with enhanced grip through FEM optimized fibre orientation (authors: Martino Colonna, Nicola Pugno, Stefano Signetti) wins the Vibram® special prize at Milano Montagna Vibram® Factory 2015. Press release [in italian]. Highlighted by Wired.it, Skialper, Vibram. Picture of the award ceremony.
The Laboratory of Bio-Inspired & Graphene Nanomechanics at the Researchers' Night 2015, 25 September 2015, Trento (Italy). Programme.
Mega Engineering: Damming the Atlantic on The New Scientist. See the related chapter about the Mediterranean Sea Terrace Proposal.
Prof. Pugno comment on Bendy kirigami graphene structures on BBC News.
ESMC 2015 Focus Issue on Micro and Nano Mechanics and Systems, FRONTIERS IN MATERIALS. Deadline for paper submission: 30 November 2015.
Special Issue on Micro-structured bioinspired functional surfaces, BIO-INSPIRED MATERIALS. Deadline for paper submission: 31 October 2015.
Prof. Pugno interview on the Artificial Spiderweb at Moebius on Radio 24, 20/06/2015 [in Italian].
Prof. Pugno at the ERC celebrations for 5000 funded grants, 16 June 2015, Solvay Library (see the video) and European Parliament (see the video), Bruxelles, Belgium. ERC press release, ERC event page, ERC Newsletter, UniTn press release (in Italian). Highlight in the newspaper Trentino (in Italian).
Prof. Pugno interview on the Limpet Teeth at Smart City on Radio 24, 05/06/2015 [in Italian].
Predictive modelling-based design and experiments for synthesis and spinning of bioinspired silk fibres. See related paper. Highlight on MIT News, Tech Times, ResearchItaly, QMUL and on the Italian newspaper L'Adige. In Italian: L'Adige, Trento Today, Meteoweb, Greenreport.it, Controcampus.it, Il Fatto 24 Ore, L'Adigetto. UniTn press release (in Italian).
Falling Walls Lab Trento 2015. Prof. Pugno president of the judging committee, 3 July 2015, Trento, Italy. Press release. Highlight on Le Scienze (in Italian). Result of the Italian selection: UniTn press release (in Italian). Nicola Pugno member of the jury at the Falling Walls Lab Final Event in Berlin, November 8 2015.
Silk reinforced with graphene or carbon nanotubes spun by spiders. Highlight on Science, New Scientist, MIT Technology Review, Discovery News, Wired, Sky News, NBC News, Daily Mail, Huffington Post, Engadget.com, IB Times, Motherboard, NanotechWeb.org and many others. London newspaper. In Italian: Il Messaggero, Le Scienze, Focus, Corriere Innovazione. Cited by Dailymail.
Nicola Pugno member of the jury at the TEAM DESIGN competition of EBEC Trento, 16-17 March 2015, Teatro Sanbàpolis, Trento, Italy. EBEC Website.
Prof. Pugno interview at 24 Mattina Radio 24. Talk on "Extreme Science", highlighting on Prof. Pugno's ERC Grants with Dr. Federico Bosia (Department of Physics, University of Torino), 27/03/2015 [in Italian].
Skype call with Samantha Cristoforetti from ISS, Trento Science Museum (MUSE), 24 March 2015. Highlight on La Voce del Trentino (in Italian).
Conference: 21^th Conference of the International Society for Skiing Safety, 8-13 March 2015, San Vito di Cadore - Cortina D'Ampezzo (Italy). Programme
Prof. Pugno interview on new nanomaterials on Radio 24, 07/03/2015 [In Italian].
Fondazione Bruno Kessler and University of Trento in the European action plan for graphene, Graphene Flagship press release, FBK/UniTN press release (in Italian). Corriere della Sera, Trentino, L'Adigetto, Il Trentino, Ansa, (in Italian).
Discovered the strongest natural material known to men. Focus on Science, The New Scientist, Discovery News, National Geographic, The Science Times, Composite World and The Independent (2). Overview on Physics News. See also BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Telegraph, Sky News, IolMobile, etc.
In Italian: Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica (2), Wired, LSWN, Le Scienze, Focus, TuttoScienze - La Stampa.
Press release on UniTrentoMAG (in Italian).
Comment by Prof. Peter Fratzl.
Focus on TGR Leonardo (20/02/2015) [In Italian, from min. 5.03 to 7.19].
Satirical cartoon on The Independent and news (19/02/2015) .
Satirical cartoon on The Telegraph (19/02/2015).
New method to evaluate the exfoliation and fragmentation results of 2D materials. See related paper.
Nicola Pugno member of the Strategic Vision Committee of the Fond of Fund Venture Capital (FOF VC), of the Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR S.p.A..
ESMC 2015 - 9th European Solid Mechanics Conference, Micro and Nanomechanics Symposium, July 6-10 2015, Madrid, Spain. Extended abstract deadline
Nicola Pugno member of the new scientific and technical committee of the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
Nicola Pugno Academic Editor of PLoS ONE, Public Library of Science, from 2014.
Nicola Pugno Editorial Board Member in Biological Physics of Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group, from 2014.
Nicola Pugno member of the jury at the Falling Walls Final Event in Berlin, November 8 2014. The jury will be headed by Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin, Chairman of the Board of the Nobel Foundation. Programme - Pictures of the event.

First Falling Walls Lab at University of Trento. Info and Apply. Articles on the newspapers Il Secolo Trentino and La Voce del Trentino (in Italian). Press release (in italian). The results of the Italian selection: UniTn Web Magazine, press release and news on the newspapers L'Adigetto and Il Corriere del Trentino (in Italian). Pictures of the event.
Assemblea di Ateneo 2014 - L'Università incontra/incontra l'Università, July 16, 2014, Trento (Italy). Website - Video: La ricerca all'Università di Trento (in Italian, min 9:55).
3rd International Summer School on Smart Materials, Structures & Systems, July 21-25, 2014, Trento (Italy).
Workshop: New frontiers in multiscale modelling of advanced materials @ ECT* Villazzano, Trento (Italy), June 17-20, 2014. Flyer - Call for Papers: Research Topic on Frontiers in Materials
Grafene, la parola magica, Prof. Pugno interview at RAI News 24 (04-04-2014, in Italian).
2014 MRS Spring Meeting and Exhibit: Symposium on Soft Nanomaterials, April 21-25, 2014, San Francisco, CA (USA). Call for Papers: JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH Focus Issue on Soft Nanomaterials.
On the definition of life, see comment n. 56.
Nicola Pugno Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers in Materials - Mechanics of Materials, Frontiers & Nature Publishing Group, from 2014.
Nicola Pugno Editor-in-Chief of Bio-Inspired Materials, de Gruyter, from 2014.
Biomimetica: la natura come modello - Il Giardino di Albert - Prof. Pugno interview at RSI RETE DUE (22-02-2014, in Italian) [up to min. 19.31].
Workshop: La ricerca italiana in Europa: una sfida da vincere - Generazione ERC: i giovani e la ricerca di eccellenza in Italia, February 11, 2014, Rome (Italy).
Third ERC grant assigned to Prof. Pugno.
Second ERC grant assigned to Prof. Pugno.
Prof. Pugno discovers The “Egg of Columbus” For Making The World’s Toughest Fibres (see also Astri e particelle in Le Scienze Blog).
Congress: CERMODEL2013 Modelling & Simulation Meet Innovation in Ceramics Technology Trento (Italy), July 10-12, 2013.
2nd International Summer School on Smart Materials & Structures. July 22-26, 2013, Trento (Italy).
N. Pugno, Effetto Loto. LE SCIENZE (2013), n 537, 58-63 (Maggio 2013).
Prof. Pugno Invited Member of the Young Academy of Europe. Picture.
Characterization of spider silk highlighted in World's strongest spider web. See related paper.
The secret of spider web anchorages robustness. UniTN press release (in Italian). Highlited by Italian press agency ANSA and newspaper La Repubblica, L'Adige, and Corriere della Sera. Interviews on italian radios RadioInBlu (19 March 2013), Radio24 (28 March 2013), Radio Padania (17 May 2013)
From the lotus to the graphene tunable leaf. UniTN press release (in Italian). Highlited by Italian press agency ANSA and newspapers La Stampa, Il Sole 24 Ore, La Repubblica.
Radio interview (in Italian) on Radio Monte Carlo (21 January 2013). TV interview on Rai, SpaceLab Rai News (30 January 2013), RAI UnoMattina (1 February 2013), SuperQuark (RAI 1), Geo Scienza (RAI 3)
Highlight in "Trentino" (in italian, March 19, 2013).
Interview in local newspaper "Trentino" (in italian, January 31, 2013).
Welcome to Trento in "L'Adige" (in italian, January 31, 2013).
Advances in Bio-inspired Materials, a special issue of Materials, Special Guest Editor Prof. Nicola Pugno.
Press releases in 2012 by ANSA about the Prof. Pugno research on spiderweb iper-elasticity (1, 2) and super materials.
Highlight by ANSA (23 November, 2012), in "Trentino" (21 December, 2012), and Montagna.tv (5 December 2012). The unacknowledged risk of Himalayan avalanches triggering at Winter Universiade Conference 2013, International Interdisciplinary Conference on University Sport: Inspiring Innovation (December, 9-10, 2013, Rovereto (Italy).
Interview in "Le Scienze" (in italian, October 2012).
Space elevator study highlighted on Nature Research Highlights. See related paper.

Recent past and future invited lectures

Invited speaker at the meeting A cracking approach to inventing tough new materials: fracture stranger than friction organised by the Royal Society, 19-20 October 2020, London, UK.
Opening plenary lecture at the 25th International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, 23-28 August 2020, Milano, Italy.
Invited speaker at the University of Oxford’s Department of Materials, 7 November 2019, Oxford, UK. Title of the keynote: "The Leonardo's legacy: Bio-Inspired Nanomechanics"
Invited speaker at the Leonardo's legacy: past, present and future of made in Italy bioinspired machines workshop at the 2019 I-RIM Conference, organized in Commemoration of Leonardo da Vinci. Title of the keynote: "The Leonardo's legacy in the solid and structural mechanics: from the studies of Giuseppe Maria Pugno to my research on bioinspired nanomechanics", 19 October 2019, Rome, Italy.
Invited speaker at the 8th International Conference on Carbon NanoParticle based Composites at the Queen Mary University of London, 17 July 2019. Programme.
Silkene, invited lecture at "Le vie della seta" conference [in Italian], 27 November 2018, Rovereto, Italy. Programme [in Italian].
Invited speaker at the Polytechnic of Turin workshop on PhD studies in Structural Engineering, 23 November 2018, Torino, Italy. Programme [in Italian]. Flyer [in Italian].
Keynote speaker at TNT - Trends in Nanotechnology 2018, 3-7 September 2018, Lecce, Italy.
Bionicomposites, keynote lecture at the 10th European Solid Mechanics Conference, 2-6 July 2018, Bologna, Italy.
Bionicomposites, plenary lecture at The First International Conference on Materials, Mimicking, Manufacturing from and for Bio Application, 27-29 June 2018, Milano, Italy.
Honorary and invited speaker at Jedrzey Sniadecki BioMedical Workshop (3rd edition), 4-5 June 2018, Bydoszcz, Poland. Programme.
Frontiers in nanomechanics, Skype lecture at the UTP University of Science and Technology, 8 May 2018, Bydgoszcz, Poland. Flyer. Letter of appreciation.
Invited speaker at RoboSoft 2018, The first IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics, 24-28 April 2018, Livorno, Italy. Programme.
ERC Project Bihsnam, invited presentation at the Transport Research Arena 2018, 16-19 April 2018, Wien, Austria.
Bioinspired nanomechanics, seminar at the University of Ferrara, 23 March 2018, Ferrara, Italy. Flyer.
Materiali bioispirati [in Italian], invited talk at I Venerdì dell'Universo, 23 March 2018, Ferrara, Italy.
Mechanics of 2D materials and related 3D composites, lecture at the Winter School on structural characterization of graphene-based materials, 5-10 February 2018, Obergurgl, Austria. Flyer. Programme.
Keynote speaker at the 7th International Conference on Mechanics of Biomaterials and Tissues, 10-14 December 2017, Hawaii, USA.
Mechanics of 2d materials and related 3d composites at EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology, 23 November 2017, University of Cambridge, UK.
Neurofibres: An interdisciplinary approach for spinal cord regeneration, talk (together woth PhD Student of the Lab Ilaria Corridori) at the workshop "NeuroSpine - Regeneration & ehabilitation in spinal cord injury", 16 November 2017, CNR-ITB, Segrate, Italy. Program.
Bio-inspired products, talk at the Graphene Composite Innovation Day, 12 October 2017, Trento, Italy.
Nanomateriali per la medicina [in Italian], talk at the workshop "La ricerca sulla lesione al midollo spinale", 6 October 2017, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy. Flyer. Program.
Bio-inspired and graphene nanomechanics, invited talk at the University of Oxford, 13 July 2017, Oxford, UK.
Horizon 2050: Super-materials for zero footprint, invited talk at the European Business Summit, 22-23 May 2017, Bruxelles, Belgium. Program. Picture.
Viaggio verso marte: tecnologie, materiali e istruzioni per l'uso [in Italian], invited talk with Prof. Roberto Battiston at the VII Festa di Scienza e Filosofia, 29 April 2017, Foligno, Italy.
Invited speaker at Graphene 2017, 28-31 March 2017, Barcelona, Spain. Flyer. Program.
Extreme mechanics in nature, seminar at the Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO) of the University of Trento, 24 March 2017, Trento, Italy. Flyer.
L'affascinante mondo dei materiali bioispirati [in Italian], 20 February 2017, Liceo Prati, Trento, Italy.
New materials could help medicine, talk at the H2020 FET Proactive NEUROFIBRES kick-off meeting, 30-31 January 2017, Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Toledo, Spain. Programme. Group picture.
Concepts and bio-inspired materials for mobility, invited external plenary talk at the Pirelli Annual Material Meeting, 13 December 2016, Milano, Italy.
Nano and bio-inspired extreme mechanics, lecture at the Nanoscience Laboratory kick off meeting, 25 November 2016, Trento, Italy. Flyer.
Mechanics of 2d materials and related 3d composites at EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology, 15 November 2016, University of Cambridge, UK.
On other (non meta) extreme materials investigated in Trento talk at the international workshop Advances in mechanical metamaterials, 10-11 October 2016, Trento, Italy.
Invited speaker at Beilstein Nanotechnology Symposium 2016, 27-29 September 2016, Potsdam, Germany. Programme. Group picture.
Plenary lecture on Supercomposites for Automotive at ICAutoC 2016 International Conference on Automotive Composites, 21-23 September 2016, Lisboa, Portugal.
Invited speaker at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 27 July 2016, Daejeon, South Korea. Flyer.
Workshop at 1st International Symposium on Biotremology, 5-7 July 2016, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy. Flyer. Programme.
Forum Super materiali biologici o bio-ispirati, 31 May 2016, Parco della Fondazione E. Salvadori-Zanatta, Meano, Italy. Higlight in Trentino (hard copy) [in Italian].
Ispirazioni dalla natura: come nasce un biomateriale at Pint of Science 2016, 23 May 2016, Cafè de la Paix, Trento, Italy. Higlight in Corriere del Trentino e L'Adige [in Italian]
Mechanics of 2d materials in 3d composites at 2nd Sino-Italian Workshop on Graphene and Related 2D Materials, 23-24 April 2016, Genova, Italy.
Nanomeccanica e Bioispirazione, Seminari Carlo Emanuele e Maria Rosa Tiscornia, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica e Ambientale, Università di Genova, 20 April 2016, Genova, Italy.
Invited talk at REDS2ALPS, 28-30 January 2016, Bolzano, Italy. Flyer 1. Flyer 2. Programme. UNITN Press Release. Interview.
Destinazione Marte: osare con nuovi materiali bioispirati invited talk with Roberto Battiston, President of the Italian Space Agency, at TEDxTrento 2015, 28 November 2015, Teatro Sociale, Trento, Italy. Highlight on web: Trentino [1] [2], La Voce del Nord Est. Highlight on newspapers: Trentino [1] [2] [3], Corriere del Trentino [1] [2], Vita Trentina, L'Adige. Flyer. Video.
Invited talk on Aerospace Related Materials at NanotechItaly 2015, 25 November 2015, CNR Bologna, Italy.
Mechanics of 2d materials and related 3d composites at EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology, 11 November 2015, University of Cambridge, UK.
Invited talk at XI Convegno Nazionale Materiali Nanofasici, 26-28 October 2015, CNR Roma, Italy.
Invited talk at Milano Montagna, 8-10 October 2015, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano (Italy).
Invited talk on Nanomechanotribology at NanoItaly 2015, 22 September 2015, Università La Sapienza, Roma, Italy.
Invited talk at NanomediCEN 2015, 21 September 2015, Milano, Italy.
Invited lecture on Mechanics of 2D materials and 3D composites at GraphITA 2015, 14-18 September 2015, CNR Bologna, Italy. Programme. Nature events.
Lecture on "The potential of bio-inspired materials in sports equipment" at the Doctoral Course The future of sports translating technology into performance, 7-11 September 2015, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy.
Invited talk at the Annual Meeting 2015 of the Young Academy of Europe, 7 September 2015, Darmstadt, Germany. Flyer.
Scientific board and invited lecture at International Symposium on Nanoengineered Composites, 15-17 July 2015, Risø, Roskide, Denmark. Programme.
From bioinspired to bionic materials at Webvalley 2015, 28 June 2015, San Lorenzo in Banale, Italy. Final presentation.
La comunicazione della ricerca tra prospettive e linguaggi, 25 June 2015, Dipartimento di Scienze Congnitive, Università di Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
Plenary lecture at Materiais 2015 - VII International Materials Symposium, 21-23 June 2015, Porto, Portugal. Invited speakers. Programme.
Invited lecture for the ERC celebrations for 5000 funded grants and at the European Parliament, 16 June 2015, Solvay Library & European Parliament, Bruxelles, Belgium. ERC press release, ERC event page, UniTn press release (in Italian).
Nanoingegneria at La Giornata Della Scienza Galileo Ferraris, 10 April 2015, Aula Magna Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy (~ 1400 students).
Invited lecture: Nanomechanics of Biomaterials. At REDEOR - Unified scientific approaches towards regenerative orthopaedics and dentistry, 25-27 March , 2015, Italy.
I supermateriali, Incontri Tematici at Collegio di Merito Bernardino Clesio, 24 March 2015, Trento, Italy. Interview.
Mechanics of 2d materials and related 3d composites at EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology, 23 February 2015, University of Cambridge, UK. Slides of the course.
Invited lecture at Graphene-based technologies, 20 February 2015, Queen Mary University of London, UK. Programme. Video of the presentation.
Meccanica del grafene e dei suoi compositi at Grafene: le prospettive italiane, 6 February 2015, Università di Milano, Italy. Picture of the event
Il rischio misconosciuto delle valanghe himalayane: scienza e esperienza si incontrano. Nicola Pugno, Silvio Mondinelli (alpinista himalayano) e Giulio Caresio (giornalista freelance), Milano Montagna, 16-18 October 2014, Milano, Italy. Programme - Press release 1 - Press release 2 - Picture - Interview
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 2014. Opening Plenary Lecture (via Skype). 6 October 2014, INFN, Frascati, Italy. Programme
Invited speaker at 100th National Congress of the Italian Physics Society, 26 September 2014, Pisa, Italy. Programme
Invited speaker at IED Square 2014, 22 September 2014, Milano, Italy.
STAMM 2014, Lecture at the XIX Symposium on Trends in Application of Mathematics to Mechanics, 8-11 September 2014, Poitiers, France.
Smart solutions from the Plant Kingdom: beyond the animal models - Superhydrophobicity in plants, ACCADEMIA DEI GEORGOFILI, 9 June 2014, Firenze, Italy.
Super Materials, ImaLab lecture at Interpack 2014, 8-14 May 2014, DÃ¼sseldorf, Germany. Picture
L'evoluzione odierna dell'arte della Meccanica di Leonardo, la Nanomeccanica, Festival di Scienza e Filosofia, 10-13 April 2014, Foligno, Italy.
L’avvento della Nanomeccanica, ACCADEMIA NAZIONALE DEI LINCEI, 10 January 2014, Roma, Italy.
The unacknowledged risk of himalayan avalanches triggering, 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS MOUNTAIN SPORT AND HEALTH (MSH) 2013, 9-10 December 2013, Rovereto, Italy.
Mechanics of graphene, nanoscrolls and composites for an optimal design in industrial applications., Invited speaker at REGINA 2013 - New challenges for REsearch on Graphene: from growth and state-of-the-art towards INdustrial Applications, 3-4 December 2013, Trieste.
Invited Speaker at NanotechItaly2013, 27-29 November 2013, Venice.
Lessons of Nanomechanics from Nature, 26 November 2013, Trento, Italy.
Nanotecnology and Bio-inspired materials, Lecture at the European Academy of Bolzano, 21 November 2013.
The sustainable link in a new approach between Europe and the Arab Nations, Round Table (including Nobel Laureate Mario J. Molina), 26 October 2013, Rimini, Italy.
Invited lecture on Bioinspired Materials at 1st Euregio Research Cooperation Day, Highligth of Research at the University of Trento, 24-25 October 2013, Bolzano-Bozen.
The “Egg of Columbus” For Making The World’s Toughest Fibres (Opening Lecture, via skype, at Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 2013, 30 September 2013).
Graphene and bio-inspiration. 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE OF THE ACADEMIA EUROPAEA (AE) (preliminary program), AE-LETTERS (for AE members elected in 2012 and Young AE members), Wroclaw, Poland, 16-19 September 2013.
Prof. Pugno at the Annual Meeting of the Young Academy of Europe 2013
I Super-materiali del domani. TEDxMilano2013 “Ieri, Oggi, Domani”, June 1, 2013, Piccolo Teatro Grassi, Milan, Italy.
Tavola Rotonda sul progetto Grafene, con Andrea Ferrari, Vittorio Pellegrini e Nicola Pugno, moderata da Piero Bianucci. May 16, 2013, Salone del Libro, Turin, Italy.
Biology inspired Supermaterials: from the Space Elevator to Spiderman, LAGRANGE LECTURE (N. 4), Magnus-Haus Berlin Am Kupfergraben, Tuesday, May 7, 2013, Berlin. The discussion will be chaired by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Eberhardt Scientific Director Magnus-Haus.
I Fantastici 4 (nanomateriali), GIOVEDÌ SCIENZA, February 7, 2013, Teatro Colosseo, Turin, Italy.
FALLING WALLS CONFERENCE: FUTURE BREAKTHROUGHS IN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY, 9 November 2012, Berlin, Germany. World class researchers present their "ideas that could dramatically transform life worldwide" (Scientific American) every 9 November in Berlin to an exclusive audience from science, business, politics, culture and society. Sponsorized also by ERC and Nature. See highlight on ERC Facebook Page
Come costruire la tuta dell'uomo ragno, FESTIVAL DELLA SCIENZA, October 29 2012, Palazzo Ducale, Sala del Maggior Consiglio, Genoa, Italy.
Plenary lecture on Nanomechanics of graphene at GRAPHEL, 27-30 September 2012, Mykonos, Greece.
Designing nature-inspired super materials, in IdeasLab Harnessing Science with Nature Magazine (Facilitated by Dr. Campbell, Editor-in-Chief, Nature Magazine), WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, 11-13 September 2012, Tianjin, China.
From mind to market: energy materials (Facilitated by Dr. DiChristina, Editor-in-Chief, Scientific American), WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, 11-13 September 2012, Tianjin, China.
Fracture and adhesion of super-nanomaterials, 19th European Conference on Fracture, 26-31 August 2012, Kazan, Russia.
The fantastic 4 (nanomaterials): graphene (the strongest), spider-silk (the toughest), gecko foot (the most adhesive) and lotus leaf (the most anti-adhesive). First International Conference on Mechanics of Nano, Micro and Macro Composite Structures, June 18-20, 2012, Turin, Italy.
Chi tesse la tela dell’uomo ragno?, SETTIMANA DELLA SCIENZA, March 15 2012, Teatro del Popolo, Gallarate, Italy.
I fantastici 4 (nanomateriali), Winner of "PREMIO GIOVEDÌ SCIENZA", March 7 2012, Teatro Colosseo, Turin, Italy.
Chi tesse la tela dell’uomo ragno?, GIOVEDÌ SCIENZA, January 12 2012, Teatro Colosseo, Turin, Italy.

Movies

Prof. Pugno in the Italian TV program Superquark (22/08/2013, in Italian, at 1h19m)
Movie of the "PLENARY LECTURE: FALLING WALLS CONFERENCE. FUTURE BREAKTHROUGHS IN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY", 9 November 2012, Berlin, Germany.

Curriculum

Curriculum vitae

Research topics

Bio-inspired hierarchical super nanomaterials (e.g. self-healing)
Super-strong graphene, nanotubes and related bundles and composites (e.g. flaw tolerant)
Smart adhesion of insects, spiders and geckos and related gecko-inspired nanostructured surfaces (e.g. peeling theories)
Self-cleaning & anti-adhesive super-hydrophobic leaves and related lotus-inspired nanostructured surfaces (e.g. anti-ice)
Spider-silk and web and related spider-inspired super-tough materials and structures (e.g. anti-catastrophes)
Design and fabrication of Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (e.g. nanotubes or graphene based)
Hierarchical fibre bundle -or lattice spring- models, ropes, tissues and cellular solids (e.g. role of hierarchy)
Graphene nanoscrolls and related systems (e.g. nanomotors)
Nanomedicine: tumor cellular growth, nanovector therapeutics, scaffolds for the regenerative medicine (e.g. tumor cell dynamic resonances)
Nanoindentation and related size- and shape-effects (e.g. universal scaling laws on hardness)
Quantized Fracture Mechanics, in quasi-static, dynamic and fatigue regimes (e.g. role of defects in graphene)
Nanoscale Weibull & Fractal Statistics and related size-effects on material strength (e.g. nanotubes statistics)
Multiscale fragmentation under impact and explosions and structural dynamics (e.g. universal scaling laws on energy dissipation)
Nanotribology (e.g. of graphene, biological or hierarchical surfaces)
Bionicomposites (e.g. bionic silk spun by spiders fed with nanomaterials)
Metamaterials (e.g. seismic shielding)

Adjunct Scientists

2020	2019	2018	2017	2016

2015	2014	2013	2012	2011

Markus Buehler	Francesco Pugno

2010	2009 (Responsible of the animals)

ERC, EU and Italian Grant Press

Prof. Pugno winner and coordinator of the FET Open grant "BOHEME - Bio-Inspired Hierarchical MetaMaterials".
Prof. Pugno winner and coordinator of the MIUR PRIN grant "Integrated mechanobiology approaches for a precise medicine in cancer treatment", 15 September 2019.
Prof. Pugno winner of the Fondazione Caritro grant "Laser surface Microtexturing for tuning friction", 1 December 2018.
Prof. Pugno winner of the MIUR PON grant "PROSCAN - Strumenti micro-meccanici e robotici per la diagnosi e la terapia del cancro della prostata", 2 April 2018.
Prof. Pugno winner of the FET Proactive grant "NEUROFIBRES - Biofunctionalised Electroconducting Microfibres for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury", 1 January 2017.
Inspired by Nature: Bionic spider webs and other super-materials.
Prof. Pugno invited ERC grantee at the Transport Research Arena 2018, 16-19 April 2018, Wien, Austria.
Prof. Pugno awarded with the "2017 Griffith Medal & Prize", highlighted on @ERC_Research.
Horizon 2050: Super-materials for zero footprint, invited talk at the European Business Summit, 22-23 May 2017, Bruxelles, Belgium. Program. Picture.
ERC Starting Grant project BIHSNAM "Bio-Inspired Hierarchical Super Nanomaterials" (2012-2016) just concluded, with 141 papers published in international journals and cited 2239 times, with an average Impact Factor of 4.345 and a cumulative Impact Factor of 612.599, see details. Open source codes available by contacting nicola.pugno@unitn.it: fracture (hierarchical fibre bundle model, hierarchical lattice spring model), friction (spring-block model), adhesion (multpile peeling code), impact (multilayer impact code). We thank again ERC for having provided the "Equipment to Run the Competition".
Video Animation about the work and opportunities offered by the ERC, including the spider web research of Prof. Pugno. Short presentation - Full video.
Prof. Pugno winner of the third ERC Proof of Concept. Featuring on ERC Press Release (Jan 2016) and PoC 2015 Grant Examples.
Bionic spider webs and other super-materials on the European Commission Newspaper [see pag. 42].
Prof. Pugno in one of the 3 examples of breakthroughs in ERC projects highlighted for "Celebrating 5000 grantee".

Prof. Pugno at the ERC celebrations for 5000 funded grants, 16 June 2015, Solvay Library (see the video) and European Parliament (see the video), Bruxelles, Belgium. ERC press release, ERC event page, ERC Newsletter.

	Prof. Pugno at the Solvay Library with Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation. Prof. Pugno at the European Parliament with the 5000th grantee Iva Tolic and, at the centre, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council.