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Dr. Hongshuang Guo , a valued member of our Smart Photonic Materials (SPM) group, has been awarded a prestigious four-year Academy Research Fellowship by the Research Council of Finland. His project will be impremented at Tampere University from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2029 . Hongshuang’s project, STAR ( Smart Biomedical PlaTforms Using Advanced Stimuli-Responsive Materials ), will explore the development of intelligent biomedical platforms using stimuli-responsiv

A new study in Advanced Materials presents halogen-bonded liquid crystal elastomers that act as initiator-free photochemical actuators , enabling precise light-driven movements. These materials show multimodal actuation , including rolling and underwater gripping, offering exciting potential for soft robotics and adaptive devices. The work is a collaboration including Tampere University, Aalto University and University of Cambridge . Congratulations to Hongshuang Guo and t

Second year in a row an SPMer wins one of the two Best Poster Awards at the Optics and Photonics Days 2025 ( OPD2025 ). Congratulations to Sudharsana Pillailokam on the impressive achievement during his first year of PhD studies . OPD is Finland’s premier annual event in optics and photonics, bringing together researchers, industry leaders, and students from across the globe. The 2025 edition featured parallel academic and industry sessions, a vibrant exhibition, and nume

Hongshuang Guo and collaborators from Tampere and Jyväskylä universities have developed liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) that combine shape memory and actuation using chalcogen bonds (Se⋯N and S⋯N interactions) . Published in Angewandte Chemie ( DOI: 10.1002/ange.202508101 ), the study shows that Se‑based LCEs enable reversible shape changes, rewritable surface patterns, and even light‑driven micro‑robots, while S‑based LCEs lack these dynamic behaviors. Advanced spectr