AIAS2025 Ph.D. Summer Course

Contribution List

1. Registration and School Opening

16/06/2025, 14:00

L. Vergani, Politecnico di Milano
P. Livieri Università di Ferrara

2. The choice of material from an environmental perspective: from the European policies to the Life Cycle Assessment role - Prof. M. Delogu, Università di Firenze

16/06/2025, 14:30

The aim of the seminar is to share knowledge on policies, regulations and practices (i.e. methodologies, tools, and standards) functional to the development of sustainable industrial products and technologies with a focus on the importance of material’s choice in the circularity perspective. Particularly, special emphasis will be dedicated to the EU regulatory framework conducive to achieving...

3. Sustainable Velomobile Development: A Biomaterial-Based, Holistic Design Approach Across the Product Lifecycle - Prof.a C. Gastaldi, Politecnico di Torino

16/06/2025, 16:45

This talk presents a circular design approach to developing a sustainable velomobile, a human-powered vehicle suited for short-distance travel, tourism, and green deliveries. Given the rising demand for alternative mobility solutions, velomobiles offer an efficient and weather-resistant alternative to bicycles. The project integrates Circular Design (CD) and Systems Engineering (SE) to...

4. Bioinspired Composite Design for Enhanced Mechanics: Part 1 -Dr. Zhao Qin, University of Syracure

17/06/2025, 08:45

Natural materials exhibit remarkable functions—self-growth, mechanical strength, energy efficiency, environmental friendliness, and tunability—achieved through multiscale structures. Unlocking their gene-structure-function relationships and innovatively applying these materials is essential for transitioning from petroleum-based development to a sustainable, circular future. Through multiscale...

5. Bioinspired Composite Design for Enhanced Mechanics: Part 2 -Dr. Zhao Qin, University of Syracure

17/06/2025, 11:00

Natural materials exhibit remarkable functions—self-growth, mechanical strength, energy efficiency, environmental friendliness, and tunability—achieved through multiscale structures. Unlocking their gene-structure-function relationships and innovatively applying these materials is essential for transitioning from petroleum-based development to a sustainable, circular future. Through multiscale...

6. To be announced - Prof. Nicola Pugno, Università di Trento

17/06/2025, 14:30

7. A vision towards bioinspired sustainable robotics - Prof. B. Mazzolai, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

17/06/2025, 16:45

Natural organisms are inherently adaptive, continuously learning, and evolving. By studying their life processes and evolutionary strategies, engineers can extract key principles to design functional embodiments and energy-efficient behaviors—essential for artificial machines operating in unstructured and challenging environments. With this vision, our approach draws inspiration from plants...

8. A self-healing, adaptive, hierarchical material - Prof. Davide Ruffoni, Universté de Liege

18/06/2025, 08:45

Damage and failure in ductile metals is characterized by nucleation, growth, and coalescence of voids. The underlying mechanisms and kinetics that control void nucleation and growth have been linked to material microstructure, but the specific controlling mechanisms associated with these processes are not understood or predicted. Hence, it is impossible to quantitatively understand and...

9. Biomimetic tissue interfaces: design, modeling, and applications - Prof. M. Mirzaali, University of Delft

18/06/2025, 11:00

Natural soft-hard tissue interfaces, such as those found between bone and cartilage or tendon, exhibit remarkable mechanical resilience and functionality. However, replicating these extreme interfaces in engineered systems presents significant challenges, primarily due to stress concentrations that lead to mechanical failure. In this talk, I will explore the fundamental design motifs that...

10. Bioinspired design: towards multifunctionality - Prof. F. Libonati, Università di Genova

18/06/2025, 14:30

The high quest for lightweight, strength, and toughness is driving the research toward the design of de novo high-performance materials. Nature is a magnificent example of how–through the design and self-assembly of heterogeneous hierarchical structures–it is possible to amplify the properties of the constituent building blocks of biological materials, optimize such materials for the...

11. Bio-inspired strategies for enhanced tissue engineering - Prof. L. Vergani, Politecnico di Milano

18/06/2025, 16:45

12. Advanced AI Techniques for Material Analysis and Design: Part 1 - Prof. Filippo Berto, Università di Roma La Sapenza

19/06/2025, 08:45

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a transformative tool in materials science, offering innovative approaches to address challenges in modeling and understanding material behavior. This lesson explores the core mechanic and the application of advanced AI architectures, such as Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLPs), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and...

13. Advanced AI Techniques for Material Analysis and Design: Part 2 - Prof. Filippo Berto, Università di Roma La Sapenza

19/06/2025, 11:00

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a transformative tool in materials science, offering innovative approaches to address challenges in modeling and understanding material behavior. This lesson explores the core mechanic and the application of advanced AI architectures, such as Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLPs), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and...

14. Final Test & Discussion - Prof. L. Vergani, Politecnico di Milano and Prof. P. Livieri, Università di Ferrara

19/06/2025, 14:30