The Statistical materials modelling group lead by Prof. Stefano Zapperi at the Department of Physics of the University of Milan focuses on the study of materials through computational, statistical and data science approaches. Research on complex systems in done within the Center for Complexity and Biosystems where the team collaborates with Oncolab lead by Prof. Caterina La Porta. Technology transfer in the broad area of big data analytics is done by the spinoff Complexdata. Research on automatic design of mechanical metamaterials is supported by the ERC.
News
Designing 3D printed actuators by artificial intelligence
Mechanical metamaterials actuators achieve pre-determined input-output operations exploiting architectural features encoded within a single 3D printed element…
Predicting failure using AI
Being able to predict when and where a material will fracture is a key issue with important industrial implications in the area of device and component monitoring. Researchers from the Center for Complexity and Biosystems ..
Paper on digital materials design featured on the cover of APL materials
Our paper on the “Digital strategies for structured and architected materials design” was features in the cover of the journal APL Materials. The paper is avaialble in open access
Books
Crackling Noise: Statistical Physics of Avalanche Phenomena
The response of materials and the functioning of devices is often associated with noise. In this book, Stefano Zapperi concentrates on a particular type of noise, known as crackling noise, which is characterized by an intermittent series of broadly distributed pulses. While representing a nuisance in many practical applications, crackling noise can also tell us something useful about the microscopic processes ruling the material’s behavior.
Features of the book
•Provides a comprehensive overview of key concepts and theoretical models
•Explores the many applications of the theory of crackling noise in materials science
•Includes expansive discussions considering implications for the life sciences
Features of the book
•Provides a comprehensive overview of key concepts and theoretical models
•Explores the many applications of the theory of crackling noise in materials science
•Includes expansive discussions considering implications for the life sciences
Understanding Innovation Through Exaptation
This book explores the role of exaptation in diverse areas of life, with examples ranging from biology to economics, social sciences and architecture. The concept of exaptation, introduced in evolutionary biology by Gould and Vrba in 1982, describes the possibility that already existing traits can be exploited for new purposes throughout the evolutionary process. Edited by three active scholars in the fields of biology, physics and economics, the book presents an interdisciplinary collection of expert viewpoints illustrating the importance of exaptation for interpreting current reality in various fields of investigation. Using the lenses of exaptation, the contributing authors show how to view the overall macroscopic landscape as comprising many disciplines, all working in unity within a single complex system.
This book is the first to discuss exaptation in both hard and soft disciplines and highlights the role of this concept in understanding the birth of innovation by identifying key elements and ideas. It also offers a comprehensive guide to the emerging interdisciplinary field of exaptation, provides didactic explanations of the basic concepts, and avoids excessive jargon and heavy formalism. Its target audience includes graduate students in physics, biology, mathematics, economics, psychology and architecture; it will also appeal to established researchers in the humanities who wish to explore or enter this new science-driven interdisciplinary field.
This book is the first to discuss exaptation in both hard and soft disciplines and highlights the role of this concept in understanding the birth of innovation by identifying key elements and ideas. It also offers a comprehensive guide to the emerging interdisciplinary field of exaptation, provides didactic explanations of the basic concepts, and avoids excessive jargon and heavy formalism. Its target audience includes graduate students in physics, biology, mathematics, economics, psychology and architecture; it will also appeal to established researchers in the humanities who wish to explore or enter this new science-driven interdisciplinary field.
The Physics of Cancer
Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of theoretical and experimental contributions to cancer research from different fields of physics, from biomechanics and soft-condensed matter physics to the statistical mechanics of complex systems. Reviewing these contributions and providing a sophisticated overview of the topic, this is the first book devoted to the emerging interdisciplinary field of cancer physics. Systematically integrating approaches from physics and biology, it includes topics such as cancer initiation and progression, metastasis, angiogenesis, cancer stem cells, tumor immunology, cancer cell mechanics and migration. Biological hallmarks of cancer are presented in an intuitive yet comprehensive way, providing graduate-level students and researchers in physics with a thorough introduction to this important subject. The impact of the physical mechanisms of cancer are explained through analytical and computational models, making this an essential reference for cancer biologists interested in cutting-edge quantitative tools and approaches coming from physics.
Cell Migrations: causes and functions
Cell migration plays an important role during development and in many physiological and pathological processes, from wound healing to cancer. This edited volume presents a collection of contributions meant to illustrate the state of the art on this topic from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Readers will find a detailed discussion of the properties of individual and collective cell migration, including the associated biochemical regulation and important biophysical and biomechanical aspects. The book includes information on the latest experimental techniques employed to study cell migration, from microfluidics to traction force microscopy, as well as the latest theoretical and computational models used to interpret the experimental data. Finally, the role of cell migration in cancer and in development is also reviewed.
The contents of this work should appeal to students and researchers in biology and biophysics who want to get up to date on the latest interdisciplinary development in this broad field of research. The chapters are written in a self-contained form and can also be used as individual articles.
Readers will find a detailed discussion of the properties of individual and collective cell migration, including the associated biochemical regulation and important biophysical and biomechanical aspects. The book includes information on the latest experimental techniques employed to study cell migration, from microfluidics to traction force microscopy, as well as the latest theoretical and computational models used to interpret the experimental data. Finally, the role of cell migration in cancer and in development is also reviewed.
The contents of this work should appeal to students and researchers in biology and biophysics who want to get up to date on the latest interdisciplinary development in this broad field of research. The chapters are written in a self-contained form and can also be used as individual articles.
