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About

Esther Amstad is a materials scientist and engineer whose research sits at the intersection of soft matter, hydrogel mechanics, and advanced manufacturing. Her work centers on the design and fabrication of granular hydrogels and elastomers — materials engineered to mimic the remarkable mechanical properties of natural biological tissues. Amstad has made significant contributions to the development of double network granular hydrogels, pioneering their use in 3D printing to create structures with tunable, locally varying mechanical properties. Her landmark 2020 paper, "3D Printing of Strong and Tough Double Network Granular Hydrogels," has accumulated over 170 citations, reflecting its outsized influence on the field of soft materials and tissue engineering scaffolds. She has further advanced this domain through innovations in mechanical reinforcement strategies, including ionic and electrostatic approaches, broadening the range of achievable material performance. More recently, her group has extended these materials into soft robotics, demonstrating mechanoreceptive molluscoid robots capable of environmental sensing. Across her portfolio, Amstad has shown a consistent ability to translate fundamental materials chemistry into practical, fabrication-ready solutions — making her a leading figure in the growing field of printable, load-bearing soft materials.