MAE Seminar: Scalable Fabrication and Geometry-Guided Mechanics of Self-Architected Materials

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MAE Seminar: Scalable Fabrication and Geometry-Guided Mechanics of Self-Architected Materials
Date: February 19, 2026
Time: 12:50 PM Location: MAE-A 303

Dr. Somayajulu Dhulipala
PhD Candidate
Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Abstract
Architected materials offer a powerful route to achieving lightweight structures with exceptional mechanical performance, inspired by complex morphologies found in natural systems. However, realizing these architectures at scale remains a fundamental challenge due to limitations in fabrication, material selection, and process control. In this talk, I will present recent advances in the scalable fabrication of architected materials and demonstrate how geometry can be leveraged as a design parameter to program mechanical response. I will discuss experimental strategies for generating self-architected materials with features across multiple length scales, along with analytical and
computational frameworks that connect microstructural geometry to macroscopic mechanical behavior. By integrating fabrication, modeling, and experiments, these approaches enable the creation of materials with tunable stiffness, strength, and deformation pathways. I will highlight recent demonstrations of scalable manufacturing routes and show how geometry-guided mechanics can unlock new regimes of performance inaccessible to conventional materials. Finally, I will outline opportunities for translating these concepts into engineering applications, including lightweight structural components and multifunctional systems for extreme environments and space technologies.

Biography
Somayajulu Dhulipala is a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, where he conducts research on self-architected materials. His work focuses on developing scalable fabrication methods for lightweight, high-strength materials with tunable mechanical properties, combining experimentation, analytical modeling, and computational design. He has co-authored publications in Nano Letters, Nature, EML, Advanced Materials, and JMPS and has received several honors, including the MRS Spring 2025 Graduate Student Award Silver Medal, the SES Best Poster Award, several NEW.Mech lightning talk awards, and the MIT MathWorks Engineering Fellowship. Beyond academia, Somayajulu has contributed to the design of next-generation ceramic and glass components at Apple and has also contributed to payloads sent to the ISS and the Moon. He is passionate about translating fundamental materials research into engineering applications for space.

Faculty Host: Dr. Alison Dunn