UKMMN (EPSRC)

UKMMN

Making the UK a Science and Innovation Leader in Metamaterials

The UK Metamaterials Network (UKMMN) is the home of the UK metamaterials community, providing leadership to drive the national metamaterials agenda. A thriving and active community, the UKMMN consists of over 1000 members from institutions across the UK and abroad, bringing metamaterials stakeholders together from all domains and sectors. It connects academia, industry, and Government benefiting UK security and prosperity.

The UKMMN was awarded NetworkPlus status in 2024 with a £2.5 million investment (c.£3,5 million over the lifetime of the Network and NetworkPlus) until September 2028. This significant investment supports the metamaterials community’s activities, bringing together experts from multiple domains and perspectives to collaborate and build a self-sustaining community.

People

The leadership team

Name	Institution	Title
Andrew Alderson	Sheffield Hallam University	Mechanical SIG Lead
Tom Allen	Manchester Metropolitan University	Health Challenge Lead (Executive Board)
Milo Baraclough	Dstl	Microwave & THz SIG Lead
Gregory Chaplain	University of Exeter	Acoustics SIG Lead
Claire Dancer	University of Birmingham	Joint Network Lead (Executive Board)
Bryn Davies	University of Warwick	Theory, Modelling & AI SIG Lead
Oliver Duncan	Manchester Metropolitan University	Mechanical SIG Lead
Andrea di Falco	University of St Andrews	Fundamental Science Lead (Executive Board)
Nicholas Grant	University of Warwick	Manufacturing Challenge co-Lead
Stephen Henthorn	University of Sheffield	Microwave & THZ SIG lead
Alastair Hibbins	University of Exeter	Joint Network Lead (Executive Board)
Jisun Im	University of Warwick	Manufacturing Challenge co-Lead
Mitchell Kenny	University of Nottingham	Photonics SIG Lead
Felix Langfeldt	University of Southampton	Acoustics SIG Lead
Owen Lozman	M Ventures/Merck	End User Group Member
Miguel Navarro-Cia	University of Birmingham	Microwave & THz SIG Lead
Rupert Oulton	Imperial College London	Photonics SIG Lead
Simon Pope	University of Sheffield	Space and Aviation Challenge Area Lead (Executive Board)
Alex Powell	University of Exeter
Diane Roth	QinetiQ	Active SIG Lead
Katie Shanks	University of Exeter	Sustainability Challenge Lead (Executive Board)
Anton Souslov	University of Cambridge	Fundamental Science Lead (Executive Board)
Stefan Szyniszewski	Durham University	Theory, Modelling & AI SIG Lead
Jamie Williams	National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
Ian Youngs	Dstl	Advisory Board Member
Sophie Pain	University of Warwick	Manufacturing Challenge co-Lead
Aakash Bansal	Loughborough University	Active SIG Lead
Calum Williams	University of Exeter	Health Challenge co-Lead
Feiran Wang	University of Nottingham	Manufacturing Challenge co-Lead
Helen Rance	University of Exeter	UKMMN Strategy & Science Manager (Executive Board)
Rob Hewson	Imperial College London	Health Challenge co-Lead
Rox Middleton	University of Bristol	Challenge Area co-Lead Sustainability
Steven Hepplestone	University of Exeter	Challenge Area co-Lead Sustainability
Marcelo Dias	University of Edinburgh	SIG co-Lead Mechanical Metamaterials
Andrew Henning	University of Huddersfield	Photonics SIG Lead
Naemi Leo	Loughborough University	Photonics SIG Lead
Ryan Bower	Imperial College London	Photonics SIG lead
Henry Marsh	UK Metamaterials Network	Network Operations Manager
Aaron Vance	University of Wolverhampton	Health Challenge co-Lead
Ajit Panesar	Imperial College London	Theory, Modelling & AI SIG Lead
Eytan Canzini	University of Sheffield	Space and Aviation Challenge co-Lead
Jasim Uddin	Cardiff Metropolitan University	Space and Aviation Challenge co-Lead
Ioannis Papakonstantinou	University College London	Sustainability Challenge Lead
Greg Smith	BAE Systems	Space and Aviation Challenge co-Lead

Partners

The UK Metamaterials Network is a collaboration spread across academia, industry, government agencies and other bodies throughout the UK and the rest of the world. Below is a list of the home institutions, alongside the University of Exeter, of the Executive Board, External Advisory Board and Leadership Team as the supporters of the initial grant proposal.

The home institutions of the Executive Board