Mattia Bacca
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Research focus:
Mattia Bacca’s research interests are on the mechanics of functional materials, in particular, bio-inspired adhesives, high toughness elastomers, hydrogels, and nanostructured metal alloys. His research aims to improve basic understanding, at the micro and nano-metric length scales, of the phenomena responsible for the development of the desired macroscopic properties of materials. This multi-scale approach is then utilized to advance the fundamental principles of material design for a broad set of technological applications, such as robotics, manufacturing engineering, aerospace, and biotechnology.
Prior to UBC:
Mattia completed his PhD at the University of Trento in Structural Engineering and was a postdoctoral fellow in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 2013 to 2016. Mattia also received his BS and MS from the University of Trento in Civil Engineering.
Accolades:
Mattia’s scientific research has been published in top journals in the field of solid mechanics and mechanics of materials, such as Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Mechanics of Materials and International Journal of Solids and Structures. He participated at the conference IMECE ASME in 2014 and 2016, where he also served as session chair for the symposium “Mechanics of Adhesion and Friction”. His PhD thesis was awarded the “Best PhD Thesis in Mechanical Engineering” in 2014 by the University of Trento.
Personal interests:
In his free time, Mattia enjoys listening to alternative/rock music, learning to play and studying new musical instruments (he already plays guitar, a bit of piano, banjo, mandolin and harmonica) and watching sci-fi movies (inspirational for his research).