Current cooling technologies are energy-intensive drivers of global greenhouse gas emissions, prompting a demand for efficient, solid-state alternatives such as mechanocaloric systems; however, these metamaterials often suffer from (i) fatigue and non-repeatability after continuous cyclic strain, and (ii) high energy loss from intrinsic material dissipation, which limit the applications for commercial use. This SuperUROP project, conducted by the MIT Multifunctional Metamaterials Lab, addresses these challenges by integrating block copolymer and elastomer systems to maximize coupled elastocaloric and barocaloric responses, while also optimizing hierarchical architectures within mechanocaloric composites and blends. By designing 3D structures and engineering nanoscale confinement effects in materials to maximize configurational entropy changes and stress-induced crystallization during deformation, the goal is to investigate and validate how polymers and architectures influence energy dissipation, mechanical recovery, and caloric efficiency, with emphasis on minimizing hysteresis losses and maximizing adiabatic temperature changes.

Through this SuperUROP, I want to develop deeper research in the field of polymers to further understand their resilient and tunable mechanocaloric properties. I am excited to expand my knowledge on the application of architected metamaterials, creating eco-friendly technologies for solid-state systems. I look forward to continuing my research with the MIT META lab while developing and refining new skills to lead a successful project.