Sadly, it is a common trend in academia for research to remain in the lab. However there are other times, as in the case of the University of Malta’s (UM) Prof. Joseph N. Grima’s auxetics research (Faculty of Science), where projects have the impetus needed to run out to the real world.
When you pull most materials along an axis, they become thinner in the perpendicular axis.In auxetic materials, they become fatter when stretched. This counterintuitive property called Poisson’s ratio appealed to Grima, who was introduced to the principle of auxetics by one of the first researchers in the field Prof. Kenneth E. Evans, the man who coined the very term.
One of Grima’s first designs for an auxetic material was a lattice of star shapes whose sides could hinge at each point. Grima visualised the negative space within these star shapes as triangles and polygons, which then became the basic concept for his future research: rigid triangles or polygons joined together at the vertices in such a way that they can rotate. It is precisely an approach involving rotating triangles which was incorporated into the soles of NIKE Free’s latest line of running shoes. Grima, who has now been contributing to the field for decades, says this is an important moment for auxetics.
Shoes are one application, but auxetic materials’ ability to adapt to irregular shapes can be applied to a vast number of items and products; car seats, mattresses, safety hats and more; all of them benefitting the public. Grima believes that such advances are only possible if innovative universities like the UM continue to work hard and embrace the open minded approach to sharing knowledge.
For more read the in-depth feature in Think magazine: www.um.edu.mt/think/running-with-ideas.