Marco Montemurro, University Professor at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Bordeaux-Talence and researcher at I2M*, has just been appointed junior member of the Institut Universitaire de France, effective September 1, 2025. This is national recognition for the excellence of his research work.
1. What does this appointment to the Institut Universitaire de France (UIF) mean to you?
This appointment is a source of both personal and professional pride for me. Joining the Institut Universitaire de France (UIF), alongside researchers, some of whom are role models for me, is a great honor. I would like to thank my colleagues and doctoral students, with whom I conduct research on a daily basis, because this appointment is also the result of their commitment and our collective work.
2. What research topics are you currently working on?
My research focuses on developing methods for optimizing and simultaneously designing the topology and anisotropy of complex materials and structures. My research team and I are working on developing methods/algorithms to generalize mathematical and numerical models based on the physical phenomena involved in the design problem. The goal is to propose general approaches for obtaining highly efficient, innovative structures and materials for fields such as aerospace and defense. Today, we are also exploring unconventional behaviors, including mechanical invisibility and thermal camouflage.
3. What new projects or goals would you like to achieve during your five-year term at the IUF?
During my term at the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), I hope to secure European grants to continue my fundamental research on modeling 3D variable-stiffness composites produced using additive manufacturing. In addition, my team and I have recently acquired an innovative process that will be part of the composite/additive manufacturing polymers and polymer-filled polymers platform at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Bordeaux-Talence. This equipment will enable us to conduct experimental activities on this new family of composite materials.
4. How did the Bordeaux-Talence campus and its environment contribute to your research?
Since I joined in 2013, the scientific environment at the Bordeaux-Talence campus, and in particular the collective dynamic developed within the IMC department, has played a decisive role in structuring and developing my research. This foundation enabled me to create, in 2021, the COSiMS (Design, Optimization, and Simulation of Materials and Structures) research laboratory, in partnership with I2M and CEA, of which I am the leader. Some of the research activities related to my IUF chair will also be carried out within the framework of the COSiMS LRC's activities.
5. What message would you like to convey to the students and young researchers who are reading this?
I would like to encourage students and young researchers to continually cultivate their intellectual curiosity and remain attentive to developments in new technologies and emerging concepts, particularly in rapidly growing fields such as additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence. It is essential to learn about, understand, and deepen one's knowledge of the fundamentals underlying these technologies, while developing a critical mind toward the concepts and ideas advocated by researchers and engineers. Innovation, and more specifically disruptive innovation, often originates from questioning the assumptions underlying mathematical and physical models.
* Bordeaux Institute of Mechanics and Engineering (I2M / Arts et Métiers, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, INRAE)
