Dr. James Utama Surjadi joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) in May 2026 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering under the Presidential Young Professorship (PYP) scheme. Prior to joining NUS, he was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2022 to 2026. He earned his B.Eng. in Mechatronic Engineering (First Class Honors, 2017) and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (2022) from the City University of Hong Kong, where he was one of three recipients of the University’s Outstanding Doctoral Research Award.
His research bridges mechanics, materials science, and advanced manufacturing, focusing on the design, modeling, fabrication, and characterization of multiscale (nano-to-macro) metamaterials that unite exceptional mechanical robustness with multifunctional performance. Beyond academia, he is a co-founder of Super Bamboo Ltd., a sustainable materials startup featured in Cleantech 50 to Watch list (2024). His research contributions have recently been recognized through the MRS Postdoctoral Award (2026) and Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list (2025, Healthcare & Science).
Research Interest
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Mechanics of 3D micro-/nano-architected materials
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Multifunctional metamaterials and devices
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Additive manufacturing
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In situ mechanical testing
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Multiscale fabrication and characterization of materials
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Design of lightweight and tough materials
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Sustainable energy and materials
Publication
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Surjadi, J.U., Aymon, B.F.G., Carton, M.A., and Portela, C.M*. Double-network-inspired mechanical metamaterials. Nature Materials 24, 945–954 (2025)
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Surjadi, J.U. and Portela, C.M*. Enabling 3D architected materials across length and time scales. Nature Materials 24, 493-505 (2025)
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Surjadi, J.U.#, Wang, L.#, Qu, S., Aymon, B.F.G., Ding, J., Yang, H., Fan, R., Zhao, Q., Song, X.*, and Lu, Y*. Exploiting multiscale dynamic toughening in multicomponent alloy metamaterials for extreme impact mitigation. Science Advances 11, eadt0589 (2025)
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Wang, L.#, Yin, D.#, Surjadi, J.U.#, Ding, J., Fu, H., Zhou, X.*, Li, R., Xiong, T., Song, X.*, Ho, J.C.*, and Lu, Y*. Harnessing screw dislocations in shell-lattice metamaterials for efficient, stable electrocatalysts. Nature Communications 16, 7273 (2025)
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Karthikeyan, V.#, Surjadi, J.U.#, Fan, R., Li, X., Vellaisamy, A.L.R.*, and Lu, Y*. 3D architected thermoelectric devices with ultrahigh toughness and power conversion efficiency. Nature Communications 14, 2069 (2023)
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Feng, X.#, Surjadi, J.U.#, Fan, R., Li, X., Zhou, W., Zhao, S., and Lu, Y*. Microalloyed medium-entropy alloy (MEA) composite nanolattices with ultrahigh toughness and cyclability. Materials Today 42, 10-16 (2021)
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Surjadi, J.U.#, Feng, X.#, Fan, R., Lin, W., Li, X., and Lu, Y*. Hollow medium-entropy alloy nanolattices with ultrahigh energy absorption and resilience. NPG Asia Materials 13, 1-7 (2021)