Veenstra, who recently graduated cum laude on his thesis, performed his research at the Institute of Physics under the supervision of Corentin Coulais and Jasper van Wezel. The jury awarded the dissertation award “for an exemplary synthesis of experimental, theoretical, and computational research on non-reciprocal active matter, and demonstration of the broad relevance of the subject to the mechanics of solids and robotics through discovery of new phenomenology in this class of materials.”

Blurring the line between material and machine

Veenstra’s research focused on the question how engineered materials can be designed to behave like living systems. Unlike robots, which rely on centralized control and pre-programmed commands, living systems generate robust and adaptive behaviors through distributed, energy-consuming interactions – think of reflexes in the body or the collective sensing of cells. Inspired by this principle, the thesis explores how embedding non-reciprocal interactions into mechanical metamaterials turns them into active solids capable of unidirectional waves, adaptive locomotion, and cyclical shape changes. Using experiments, large-scale simulations, and continuum modelling, Veenstra identified how activity, geometry, nonlinearities, and boundary conditions interplay and give rise to new dynamical regimes that power lifelike behavior. The result is a framework for designing metamaterials that move, adapt, and self-organize, ultimately blurring the line between material and machine.

APS Dissertation Award

The American Physical Society’s Dissertation Awards recognize exceptional early-career scientists who have performed original doctoral thesis work of outstanding scientific quality. The Dissertation Award in Statistical and Nonlinear Physics consists of $2,000, a certificate, travel reimbursement up to $1,500, and a registration waiver to receive the award and give an invited talk, which Veenstra will give at the APS Global Physics Summit in March 2026.