Rate My Professor Nicola Pugno

Nicola Maria Pugno is Professor of Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London on a part-time basis. He holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino, awarded in 1995 with honours, and PhDs in fracture mechanics and biology. He is also full professor of solid and structural mechanics at the University of Trento, having previously held a position at the Polytechnic University of Turin. His expertise encompasses bio-inspired, bionic, nano, and meta materials and mechanics, including fracture mechanics, solid mechanics, structural mechanics, tribology, wettability, adhesion, and scaling laws.

Pugno has served on committees including the technical and scientific committee of the Italian Space Agency and has delivered plenary lectures at international events such as Falling Walls, the World Economic Forum, the European Parliament (invited by the European Research Council), and as opening plenary speaker at the International Conference of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. He is an editorial board member of multiple international journals and was appointed the first field chief editor of Frontiers in Materials. He has authored approximately 600 papers in international journals. For his contributions to nanomechanics, bioinspiration, fracture mechanics, and adhesion, he received the GiovedìScienza prize in 2012, the A.A. Griffith Medal and Prize in 2017, and the Humboldt Prize in 2022. Since 2011, he has secured several European Union grants, including within the Excellent Science pillars, supporting both fundamental research and technology transfer to high-tech industries. He is also an academic visitor at the University of Oxford.