Rate My Professor Corentin Coulais

Corentin Coulais is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, leading the Machine Materials Laboratory. His research centers on the physics of soft structured active materials, aiming to develop the principles of Machine Materials—synthetic materials that combine microstructure with out-of-equilibrium processes to enable programmable interactions with their environment. His work explores mechanical metamaterials exhibiting advanced shape morphing, non-reciprocal active behaviors, and non-Hermitian wave phenomena, bridging soft matter physics, active matter, and topological matter.

Coulais obtained his BSc and MSc degrees from École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in 2009 and his PhD from CEA Saclay and University Pierre et Marie Curie in 2012, focusing on the fluctuations and mechanical response of granular media at the jamming transition. After postdoctoral positions at Leiden University and AMOLF, he joined the University of Amsterdam in 2017, following an NWO Veni grant awarded in 2016. Key publications include 'Combinatorial design of textured mechanical metamaterials' (Nature, 2016), 'Non-orientable order and non-commutative response in frustrated metamaterials' (Nature, 2023), and 'Harnessing plasticity in sequential metamaterials for ideal shock absorption' (Nature, 2024), contributing to over 6,000 citations. His impact is evidenced by major awards such as the 2024 APS Early Career Award for Soft Matter Research, ERC Starting Grant (2019, €1.5M), ERC Consolidator Grant (2024, €3M), NWO VIDI Grant (2022, €800k), and multiple ERC Proof-of-Concept and NWO TTW grants supporting applications in vibration damping and electric vehicle battery housing.