What is the Network?
Making the UK a Science and Innovation Leader in Metamaterials
The UK Metamaterials Network (UKMMN) is the home of the UK metamaterials community, providing leadership to drive the national metamaterials agenda. A thriving and active community, the UKMMN consists of over 1000 members from institutions across the UK and abroad, bringing metamaterials stakeholders together from all domains and sectors. It connects academia, industry, and Government benefiting UK security and prosperity.
The UKMMN was awarded NetworkPlus status in 2024 with and a £2.5 million investment (c.£3,5 million over the lifetime of the Network and NetworkPlus) until September 2028. This significant investment supports the metamaterials community’s activities, bringing together experts from multiple domains and perspectives to collaborate and build a self-sustaining community.
As a NetworkPlus the UKMMN supports the development of the UK metamaterials ecosystem, distributing financial support to academics through our funding streams. This funding will empower researchers working on any metamaterials project aligned to our challenge areas and support innovative pilot projects either in preparation for large-scale research grant proposals or bids for follow-on funding for translation
The UKMMN was first founded in 2021 with funding by UKRI (EPSRC and Innovate UK’s KTN) and the Defence and Security Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
Why?
The UKMMN exists to breach the boundaries of isolated communities and bring together the multiple metamaterials domains and perspectives to realise the UK’s metamaterials research and exploitation capabilities. The UKMMN will support the realisation of the Government’s ‘The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy’ (23rd June 2025) through connecting the UK’s world-leading universities and globally competitive industry sectors for metamaterials. In doing so the UKMMN drives the creation of a self-sustaining and world-class metamaterials ecosystem (see figure 1).
The incredible opportunities offered through the exploitation of metamaterial concepts, often surpasses or defies what can be achieved with natural or conventional materials, making them great technology enablers with potential, widespread impacts across sectors and domains including:
ICT | Security & Defence | Space & Aerospace | Built Environment & Transport | Energy & Environment | Health
Structural | Mechanical | Thermal | Acoustic | RF & Microwave | THz | Photonics
Bridging these domains across theory, modelling and experiment, metamaterials are key to many future technologies which will enable the UK to maintain a competitive edge in an era of global competition and rapid technological change.
Leadership
- The multi-institutional Executive Board, led by the joint leads Professor Alastair Hibbins (University of Exeter) and Dr Claire Dancer (University of Birmingham), sets the UKMMN’s strategic direction, advised by the Advisory Board of national and international experts.
- The Leadership Team, formed of the Special Interest Group and Challenge Area leads guides the sector-specific activities and initiatives.
- The End User Group, formed of senior industry representatives, provides guidance and applied technology insights to the UKMMN.
- The Career Advancement Group provides guidance and leadership for the UKMMN’s upskilling and training initiatives and activities.
The UKMMN’s Objectives & Mission
