Andrea Piccolroaz

Andrea Piccolroaz is an Associate Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at the University of Trento, Italy. He is affiliated with the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering and leads the Structural Mechanics Group. His research focuses on fracture mechanics, microstructured materials, and computational modeling of complex material behaviors.

Dr. Piccolroaz earned his

• PhD in Materials and Structural Engineering (2004)
• Materials Engineering Degree (2000)

both from the University of Trento. He has held visiting positions at the Isaac Newton Institute (2019), International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (2010), and University of Cambridge (2003).

His work explores material instabilities, dynamic crack propagation, homogenization techniques, and metamaterial design. Recent publications analyze prestressed elastic lattices, interfacial crack mechanics, and thermomechanical modeling of ceramic processes. His 15 most recent articles (2020-2025) examine wave propagation in structured media, crack dynamics in heterogeneous materials, and novel yield criteria for quasibrittle materials.

Scientific recognitions include

• Marie Curie Fellow (FP7 - PEOPLE - Career Integration Grant)
• Coordinator of RE-FRACTURE2 and CERMAT2 Marie Curie ITN projects
• Principal Investigator for MeMic (Marie Curie CIG)

He contributes to experimental validation of ceramic forming processes and industrial collaborations, including projects with SACMI (2005) and VESUVIUS (2009). His laboratory maintains a Physical Modeling of Structures and Photoelasticity facility for experimental research.