SMILE-Soft Materials Investigation Lab  for Engineers

About SMILE:  

Shaping the Future with Smart, Flexible Materials

The Soft Materials Investigation Lab for Engineers is a cutting-edge research facility dedicated to studying and advancing the science of soft, deformable, and multifunctional materials. These include dielectric elastomers, gels, foams, and biologically inspired substances that are revolutionizing modern engineering.

Soft materials are the key to the next generation of flexible, adaptive, and responsive technologies. Our lab provides researchers and students with the tools to explore these materials’ mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties, enabling innovation across diverse fields.

Core Applications We Explore:

🔹 Soft Actuators for Robotics – Creating muscle-like components for robots that can bend, stretch, and move safely in dynamic environments.

🔹 Minimum-Energy Structures – Designing energy-efficient morphing systems and deployable structures inspired by nature.

🔹 Flexible and Stretchable Electronics – Enabling next-gen wearables, sensors, and biomedical monitoring systems.

🔹 Biocompatible Materials for Medical Devices – Developing scaffolds and implants that integrate seamlessly with human tissue.

🔹 Smart Sensors and Artificial Skins – Engineering materials that mimic touch, pressure, and motion sensing for advanced human-machine interfaces.

A Hub for Innovation and Collaboration

What sets our lab apart is not just the advanced equipment, but the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration. Engineers, material scientists, roboticists, and bioengineers work side-by-side to solve real-world challenges using soft, responsive materials. Whether you're interested in hands-on prototyping or theoretical modeling, the lab offers a vibrant space to bring ideas to life.

Join us in exploring the limitless possibilities of soft materials-and be part of the movement that’s reshaping the future of engineering.

About PI (Dr. Aman Khurana):  I am currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore. My research is dedicated to the development of smart material-based structures, with a particular focus on soft materials mechanics and the dynamics of minimum energy structures composed of electroactive polymers.

Before joining IIT Indore, I worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Intelligent Materials Systems Laboratory, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany. I earned my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Continuum Mechanics from IIT Roorkee in 2022.

Driven by a passion for original and impactful research, I actively contribute to the academic community by regularly authoring and reviewing articles for prestigious peer-reviewed international journals and conferences. My research contributions have been published in high-impact journals and presented at reputed global conferences.

Awards & Honors

• 🏅 DST Inspire Faculty Fellowship (2022) – Awarded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.

• 🏅 Ratan Prakash Memorial Gold Medal (2017) – For securing First Rank in M.Tech. (Applied Mechanics).

• 🏅 Best Paper Award (2021) - European Journal of Computational Mechanics 

Collaborative Research

I have been actively involved in international collaborations, including:

• Prof. Giuseppe Zurlo, National University of Ireland , Galway – On the stability analysis of wrinkling phenomena in dielectric membranes.

• Prof. Tanmoy Mukhopadhyay, University of Southampton, UK – On the nonlinear behavior of electro-magneto-active thin membranes.

• Prof. Stefen Seelecke, Saarland University, Germany – On designing the futuristic minimum enrgy structures based actuators.

For more details about my research, publications, and ongoing projects, please explore other sections of this website.

PG/UG students interested in working in my research area may contact me via email and include their resume/CV as an attachment.