Associate Professor at King’s College London – S1.26 Strand Campus
+44 7429230978
antonio.forte@kcl.ac.uk
About me
I am Associate Professor (UK Senior Lecturer) at King’s College London, in the Department of Engineering. I am currently UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and I was previously a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in the Bertoldi’s group at Harvard university.
I am an engineer who focuses on the design of architected materials, spanning from deployable origami structures to soft robotic actuators. While my research questions are quite varied, a common theme is the optimization of design-driven approaches to embed functionalities into materials and structures. To answer these questions, I use finite element simulations, machine learning models and experiments.
Research Interests
Finite Element modeling
Engineers rely on finite element modeling as a tool to tackle a number of problems. From skyscrapers to organs, the accuracy of these models is key in the successful construction of a building or the preoperative planning of a surgery. I am applying finite element modeling to a wide range of applications, spanning from biomechanics, to kirigami and origami structures.
Machine learning
Machine learning algorithms have proven to be fundamental tool for Neuroscience and for the understanding of Nature in general. I was trained as a neuroscientist during my postdoc and I am now translating that expertise to solve engineering problems, developing parametrized forward and inverse models for the design of functional lattices, bistable structures and smart actuators.
Architected materials
Architected materials are the materials of the future. Lightweight, smart and deployable, they can achieve functionalities beyond those found in nature. I am simulating their mechanical properties to better guide and optimize their design, as well as advancing techniques to fabricate them combining the use of soft materials, 3D printing techniques and tessellation approaches.
Career path
2025
Publications
(* Corresponding Author; † Joint First Authorship; Last Author)>>>>Google Scholar
M. Mousa, … & A. E. Forte*(2024). Frequency-controlled fluidic oscillators for soft robots
Advanced Science
Y. Yang, …, A. E. Forte, … & K. Bertoldi* (2024). Complex Deformation in Soft Cylindrical Structures via Programmable Sequential Instabilities
Advanced Materials
A. Rezanejad, … & A. E. Forte*(2024). Complex picking via entanglement of granular mechanical metamaterials
arXiv
A. E. Forte*, … & K. Bertoldi* (2023). Chiral mechanical metamaterials for tunable optical transmittance
Advanced Functional Materials
A. E. Forte†, … & K. Bertoldi* (2022). Inflatable origami: multimodal deformation via multistability
Advanced Functional Materials
A. E. Forte*, … & K. Bertoldi* (2022). Inverse design of inflatable soft membranes through machine learning.
Advanced Functional Materials
B. Deng†, M. Zanaty†, A. E. Forte, & K. Bertoldi (2022). Topological solitons make metamaterials crawl.
Physical Review Applied
M. C. Fernandes†, S. Mhatre†, A.E. Forte … & K. Bertoldi (2022). Surface Texture Modulation via Buckling in Porous Inclined Mechanical Metamaterials.
Extreme Mechanics Letters
A. Mazier, A. Bilger, A. E. Forte, I. Peterlik, J. S. Hale, S. Bordas (2022). Inverse deformation analysis: an experimental and numerical assessment using the FEniCS Project
Engineering with Computers
A. E. Forte†, … & K. Bertoldi (2021). MuA-Ori: Multimodal Actuated Origami.
arXiv preprint arXiv:2112.01366
L. Jin, A. E. Forte & K. Bertoldi (2021). Mechanical Valves for On-Board Flow Control of Inflatable Robots.
Advanced Science
M. Terzano, A. Spagnoli, D. Dini, & A. E. Forte (2021). Fluid–solid interaction in the rate-dependent failure of brain tissue and biomimicking gels.
Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
A. Dine, E. Bentley, L. A. PoulmarcK, D. Dini, A. E. Forte*, Z. Tan* (2021). A dual nozzle 3D printing system for super soft composite hydrogels.
Hardware X
B. Deng†, S. Yu†, A. E. Forte, V. Tournat, K. Bertoldi (2020). Characterization, stability and application of domain walls in flexible mechanical metamaterials.
PNAS
A. E. Forte†, … & K. Bertoldi (2020). Kirigami-inspired inflatables with programmable shapes.
Advanced Materials
Z. Tan, J. P. Ewen, A. E. Forte, S. Galvan, E. De Momi, F. Rodriguez y Baena, D. Dini (2020). What Does a Brain Feel Like?
Journal of Chemical Education
M. Saiz-Alia, A. E. Forte, & T. Reichenbach (2019). Individual differences in the attentional modulation of the human auditory brainstem response to speech inform on speech-in-noise deficits.
Scientific Reports
G. Carpenter, …, A. E. Forte, … & S. K. Baier (2019). A study of saliva lubrication using a compliant oral mimic.
Food Hydrocolloids
G. Binkhamis, A. E. Forte, … & K. Kluk-De Kort (2019). Speech Auditory Brainstem Responses in Adult Hearing Aid Users: Effects of Aiding and Background Noise, and Prediction of Behavioral Measures.
Trends in Hearing
O. Etard, …, A. E. Forte &T. Reichenbach (2019). Decoding of selective attention to continuous speech from the human auditory brainstem response.
Neuroimage
Z. Tan, …& A. E. Forte* (2018). Composite hydrogel: A high fidelity soft tissue mimic for surgery.
Materials & Design
Z. Tan, …& A. E. Forte* (2017). Cryogenic 3d printing of super soft hydrogels.
Scientific Reports
A. E. Forte, O. Etard, T. Reichenbach (2017). The human auditory brainstem response to running speech reveals a subcortical mechanism for selective attention.
eLife
A. E. Forte*, S. Gentleman, D. Dini (2017). On the characterization of the heterogeneous mechanical response of human brain tissue.
Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
A. E. Forte*, S. Galvan, D. Dini (2017). Models and tissue mimics for brain shift simulations.
Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
A. E. Forte*, …& D. Dini (2016). A composite hydrogel for brain tissue phantoms.
Materials & Design
A. Leibinger, A. E. Forte, …& F. Rodriguez Y Baena (2016) Soft tissue phantoms for realistic needle insertion: a comparative study.
Annals of Biomedical Engineering
A. E. Forte, …& J.G. Williams (2015). Modelling and experimental characterisation of the rate dependent fracture properties of gelatine gels.
Food Hydrocolloids
Das Neves Borges, A. E. Forte, …& M. Marenzana (2014). Rapid, automated imaging of mouse articular cartilage by micro-CT for early detection of osteoarthritis and finite element modelling of joint mechanics.
Osteoarthritis and cartilage
Teaching & Supervision
Assistant Professor (UK Lecturer) – King’s College London, UK (2022/2023)
- ~ 60% of the 2nd year module Design: Empowerment (5CCE2EMP) ~ 220 students
- ~ 60% of the 3rd year module Finite Element Analysis (6CCE3FEA) ~ 40 students
- Supervise ~ 10 UG Individual Projects for the 3rd year module 6CCE3EEP
- Supervise ~ 5 MSc Individual Projects for the MSc module 7CCEMPRJ
Assistant Professor (UK Lecturer) – King’s College London, UK (2021/2022)
- Team Project Supervisor for the 1st year module Design: Making a Connection (4CCS1MCP) ~ 220 students
- CAD labs for the 1st year module Design: Keys to Engineering (4CCE1KEP) ~ 220 students
- Taught ~80% of the 2nd year module Design: Empowerment (5CCE2EMP) ~ 50 students
- Tutorials for the 2nd year course Materials (5CCE2MAT) ~ 50 students
Teaching Assistant – Harvard University, US (Fall 2019 semester)
- Prepared tutorials and graded assignments for the Computational Solid and Structural Mechanics course (ES128)
Teaching Assistant – Imperial College London, UK (Fall 2017 semester)
- Taught (alternating with Prof Reichenbach) the Statistics and Data Analysis course (BE9-MSTDA) with approximately 80 students
- Graded assignments and exams for the Statistics and Data Analysis course (BE9-MSTDA)
Teaching Assistant – Imperial College London, UK (September 2011-December 2015)
- Taught (alternating with Prof Dini) the Stress Analysis course (ME1-HSAN) with approximately 100 students (2 semesters)
- Graded assignments and exams for the Stress Analysis course (ME1-HSAN, 2 semesters)
- Led laboratory sessions for Materials course (ME1-HMATL, 1 semester)
- Conducted recitation sessions for the Mechanics course (ME1-HMCX, 3 semesters)
Supervision of Undergraduate and Graduate Students:
King’s College London, UK (October 2021 – Present)
“Auxetic, super-deployable mechanical metamaterials”
PhD Student: Yulan Lu
“Mechanical Metamaterial Stent-like unfolding structures”
PhD Student: Kasandra Arcovio
“Pneumatic soft robot based on tensegrity principles”
UG Research Student: Yeji Sohn
“Soft inflatable coiling gripper for raspberry picking”
UG Research Student: Asma Zenagui
“Active surfaces for intelligent entangling”
PhD Student: Ash Rezanejad
“Soft proportional valve for embedded intelligence”
PhD Student: Mostafa Mousa
Harvard University, US (October 2018 – 2021)
“Modular, programmable and inflatable kirigami structures.”
PhD Student: Lishuai Jin; PI: Prof. K. Bertoldi (output: journal paper)
“Sequenced auxetic crawler and design optimization”
Undergraduate Student: Poppy Boyd-taylor; PI: Prof. K. Bertoldi
“Design and fabrication of a respiratory lung phantom”
Master Student: Eleonora Centanini; PI: Prof. K. Bertoldi
“Opto-mechanic metamaterials with coupled and uncoupled rotations”
Master Student: Francesco Cosi; PI: Prof. K. Bertoldi
“Soft climbing robot through single input balloon sequencing”
Phd Student: Zhongdong Jiao; PI: Prof. K. Bertoldi
“Pixel level inverse design of pneumatic membrane through machine learning”
Master Student: Emilia Zari; PI: Prof. K. Bertoldi
“Tensegrity energy absorbers with multistable compressive elements”
Master Student: Matteo Montanari; PI: Prof. K. Bertoldi
Imperial College London, UK (September 2011 – September 2018)
“Individual differences in the attentional modulation of the human auditory brainstem”
PhD Student: Marina Saiz-alia; PI: Prof. T. Reichenbach (output: journal paper)
“Otoacoustic emissions: testing selective attention in the inner ear”
Master Student: Laura Palacio; PI: Prof. T. Reichenbach
“Complex statistical model for detecting the brainstem response to natural speech”
Phd Student: Mikolaj Kegler; PI: Prof. T. Reichenbach (output: journal paper)
“Computational Modelling of the Auditory Brainstem Response to Speech”
Undergraduate Student: Amna Askari; PI: Prof. T. Reichenbach
“Additive manufacturing, mechanical characterisation and fem-modelling of auxetic hydrogels for biomedical applications”
Master Student: L. Engel; PI: Prof. D. Dini
“Manufacturing of super soft hydrogel scaffolds using a novel cryo-additive technique”
PhD Student: Zhengchu Tan; PI: Prof. D. Dini (output: two journal papers with me as last author)
“Shaving: measuring and modelling of cutting forces”
Undergraduate Student: Jia You; PI: Prof. D. Dini and Prof. P. Cann
“Design of a composite hydrogel for brain tissue mimicking”
Master Student: Francesco Manieri; PI: Prof. D. Dini and Prof. F. Rodriguez Y Baena (output: journal paper)
“Experimental investigation of defect propagation in viscoelastic materials”
PhD Student: Francesca D’Amico; PI: Prof. D. Dini and Prof. M. Charalambides (output: journal paper)
“Development of a dynamic brain phantom for robotic-assisted soft tissue surgery”
Master Student: Marta Cattilino; PI: Prof. D. Dini and Prof. F. Rodriguez Y Baena (output: conference paper)
“Characterisation of brain tissue through gelatine and porcine brain testing”
Undergraduate Student: Khushboo Khatri; PI: Prof. D. Dini
“An investigation into the frictional properties of brain tissue though the testing of gelatine phantom material”
Master Student: Anna Pöyry; PI: Prof. D. Dini
Conferences
D. Farrell, C. McCann, A. E. Forte, R. Sourki, C. Walsh & K. Bertoldi. – Wearable Mechanical Textile Metamaterials, American Physical Society, 2022, Chicago, US.
A. E. Forte et al. – Keynote Lecture – Programmable Kirigami Balloons, Materials Science and Engineering 2020 conference, Darmstadt, Germany.
A. E. Forte, L. Jin, B. Deng, A. Rafsanjani & K. Bertoldi. Driving balloon deformation through programmed kirigami patterns, EMI 2020, New York, USA (cancelled due to Covid-19)
L. Jin, A. E. Forte, A. Rafsanjani, B. Deng & K. Bertoldi. Inflatable kirigami structures, APS March Meeting 2020, Denver, USA (cancelled due to Covid-19)
A. E. Forte, D. Mélançon, B. Gorrissen & K. Bertoldi. Multiple outputs through bistability: smart inflatable origami actuators, Society of Engineering Science 56th Annual Technical Meeting 2019, St. Louis, USA
L. Jin, A. E. Forte, A. Rafsanjani, B. Deng & K. Bertoldi. Modular, programmable and inflatable kirigami, International Conference of Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures 2019, Nanjing, China
M. Saiz Alia, A. E. Forte & T. Reichenbach. A model of the human auditory brainstem response to running speech, Association For Research In Otolaryngology Midwinter Meeting 2019, Baltimore, USA
K. Kluk, G. BinKhamis, A. E. Forte, T. Reichenbach & M. O’Driscoll. Speech auditory brainstem responses in adult hearing aid users: Effects of aiding and background noise, and prediction of behavioral measures, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 145 (3), 1907-1907
Z. Tan, C. Lee-Reeves, A. E. Forte & D. Dini. A mechanically accurate 3D brain phantom as an in-vitro scaffold for neural stem cells, International Conference on Mechanics of Biomaterials and Tissues 2019, Hawaii, USA
M. Terzano,… & A. E. Forte. Effects of the rate-dependence properties and fluid-structure interactions on the failure of brain tissue mimicking hydrogels, Italian Association of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics 2019, Rome, Italy
M. Saiz Alia, A. E. Forte & T. Reichenbach. Selective attention in the brainstem and speech-in-noise comprehension, International Congress on Acoustics 2019, Aachen, Germany
M. Saiz Alia, A. Askari, A. E. Forte & T. Reichenbach. A model of the human auditory brainstem response to running speech, Association For Research In Otolaryngology Midwinter Meeting 2018, San Diego, USA
M. Kegler, O. Etard, A. E. Forte & T. Reichenbach. Complex Statistical Model for Detecting the Auditory Brainstem Response to Natural Speech and for Decoding Attention from High-Density EEG Recordings, Association For Research In Otolaryngology Midwinter Meeting 2018, San Diego, USA
A. E. Forte, O. Etard & T. Reichenbach. Selective Auditory Attention At The Brainstem Level, Association For Research In Otolaryngology Midwinter Meeting 2018, San Diego, USA
Z. Tan, A. E. Forte,… & D. Dini. Composite hydrogel: A new tool for reproducing the mechanical behaviour of soft human tissues, World Tribology Congress 2017, Beijing, China
A. E. Forte, O. Etard & T. Reichenbach. Complex Auditory-brainstem Response to the Fundamental Frequency of Continuous Natural Speech, Association For Research In Otolaryngology Midwinter Meeting 2017, Baltimore, USA
A. E. Forte, O. Etard &T. Reichenbach. Selective auditory attention modulates the human brainstem’s response to running speech, Basic Auditory Science 2017, Nottingham, UK
M. Kegler, O. Etard, A. E. Forte & T. Reichenbach. Complex statistical model for detecting the auditory brainstem response to natural speech and for decoding attention, Basic Auditory Science 2017, Nottingham, UK
Z. Tan, … A. E. Forte, … & F. Rodriguez y Baena. Diffusion Measurement and Modelling, European Robotic Forum 2017, Edinburgh, UK
Z. Tan, A. E. Forte,… & F. Rodriguez y Baena. Composite Hydrogel: a New Tool for Reproducing the Mechanical Behaviour of Soft Human Tissues, Biotribology 2016, London, UK
A. E. Forte & D. Dini. On the suitability of hydrogels for mimicking the mechano-response of organic soft tissues, Biotribology 2016, London, UK
A. E. Forte, S. Galvan & D. Dini. Biomechanics of the brain: experimental investigation, numerical simulation, design of advanced phantoms for robotic surgery, International Tribology Conference 2015, Tokyo, Japan
M. Cattilino… A. E. Forte, …& F. Rodriguez y Baena. Development of a dynamic soft tissue phantom for cooperative control testing in robotic surgery, The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics 2014, London, UK
I. Rasin… A. E. Forte, …& L Joskowicz. Real-time modeling of intra-operative brain shift based on video tracking, The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics 2014, London, UK
A. E. Forte & D. Dini. Modelling and Characterisation of Soft Tissue Deformation and Indentation with Particular Application to Articular Cartilage and Brain, STLE Frontiers 2014, Chicago, USA
A. E. Forte, …& D. Dini. A Novel Composite Phantom for Brain Tissue, Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society 2014, Chicago, USA
Awards
Personal Awards:
2023 – UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
2023 – EPSRC Impact Accelerator Award
2023 – NMES teaching award, King’s College London, UK
2022 – 2 x International student DTP (PhD scholarship), King’s College London, UK
2022 – 4 x KURF (King’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship), King’s College London, UK
2018 – Marie Curie Individual Fellowship for Harvard University
2017 – Music grant “Puglia Sounds” to perform at SXSW 2017, Austin, TX, USA
2016 – European Commission Seal of Excellence award
2013 – Italian Government, “Principi Attivi” Grant. Design of an innovative music device
2011 – Award for outstanding Thesis, University of Salento
2010 – European Commission, Erasmus Placement grant for graduate internship abroad
2010 – Fellowship SOLAR (declined in favor of internship at Imperial College)
2008 – Fellowship for Professional Master’s Programme: Wireless Smart Systems
2008 – 3 x Student excellence award, Italian Government, ADISU
Miscellaneous
Music
Composer, multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer. I recorded and published two albums for the labels Enclave music (US/UK) and WWNBB collective (US/IT), physically distributed worldwide by Audioglobe and digitally available on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud etc. I performed in numerous renowned music festival in Europe and US, including SXSW 2017 in Austin, TX.
TENTEN devices
Founder of Tenten Devices S.R.L.S., company that designs and manufactures innovative music devices. Tenten was awarded and funded among a competitive selection of innovative Italian start-ups in 2013.
rock Climbing
Mediocre rock climber and hiker. Pictured, my wife and I after completing the Angels Landing hike in Zion National Park, UT.