John S. Biggins

John S. Biggins is a Professor of Soft Matter Engineering at the University of Cambridge Engineering Department and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College. He leads the Soft Mechanics Group, focusing on theoretical and experimental studies of soft solids like liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), which mimic artificial muscles. His UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship supports research into LCEs as programmable materials for soft robotics and biomedical applications. He has affiliations with Cambridge's Theory of Condensed Matter (TCM) group and collaborations with Harvard and Caltech.

• PhD in Theoretical Physics (2007-2010), supervised by Mark Warner
• MSci and BA in Natural Sciences (Theoretical Physics), top of cohort
• 1851 Royal Commission Fellowship (2010-2012) at Harvard

His research spans soft matter, elastic instabilities, and active materials. Key themes include:

• Shape-programmable LCEs for soft robotics
• Buckling, wrinkling, and snapping in soft solids
• Brain folding mechanics via cortical expansion
• Chain fountain and viral physics phenomena

The 15 most recent articles reflect interdisciplinary trends in soft robotics, nanoplasmonics, and topological actuation. His work combines continuum mechanics, geometry, and experimental validation.

Scientific awards include:

• 1851 Royal Commission Research Fellowship
• UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
• Fellowships at Trinity Hall and Corpus Christi College

He mentors PhD students in soft mechanics and has secured grants from UKRI, EPSRC, and the European Research Council. His group collaborates with experimentalists across institutions to bridge theory and real-world applications.