Polymers that exhibit shape-memory effect (SME) are an important class of materials in medicine, especially for minimally invasive deployment of devices. Professor Subbu Venkatraman and his group from ...

Polymers that visibly change shape when exposed to temperature changes are nothing new. But a research team led by Chemical Engineering Professor Mitch Anthamatten at the University of Rochester ...

These sheets of plastic film may look seemingly innocuous, but increase the temperature around them and they transform into beautiful and elaborate origami models before your very eyes. Developed by ...

Imagine a world of shape-shifters. A surgeon inserts a small lump of plastic into an anesthetized patient and, like magic, it expands into a life-saving mesh tube that keeps a formerly clogged artery ...

Smart materials are materials that have properties which change reversibly, ie can change easily but can then easily change back, depending on changes in their surroundings. Here are some examples.