5th international 4D Materials Design and Additive Manufacturing Conference 2026

Overview

The 5th international 4D Materials Design and Additive Manufacturing Conference 2026 (4DMDA 2026) is organised by Dublin City University and the 4D Printing Society. The conference will showcase the latest developments and technologies in smart materials, metamaterials, intelligent designs, modelling, additive manufacturing, and 3D/4D printing. It seeks to address current concerns in the further development of 3D/4D printed devices and provides a forum for internationally recognised experts and young scientists working in the fields of smart materials, metamaterials, advanced design, modelling and simulation, and 3D/4D printing technologies to present their work.

Location

This conference is scheduled to take place on July 9-10, 2026, in Dublin City University, Ireland.

Event Details

4D Materials Design and Additive Manufacturing Conference 2026 aims to bring together the most recent research on a variety of exciting topics such as (but not limited to):

• Design methods for smart materials and additive manufacturing using computational techniques (artificial intelligence, optimisation, geometric reasoning, etc.).
• Development of new functional and active materials.
• Characterisation methods for functional and active materials.
• Design of metamaterials and metastructures, lattice generation strategies.
• Advanced additive manufacturing techniques of smart materials (multi-material techniques, hybrid additive manufacturing, closed-loop 3D printing, bioprinting, etc.).
• Advanced modelling and simulation (mechanics of materials, constitutive modelling, shape memory effects, multi-physics, stimuli-responsive, coupling effects, etc.).
• Industrialisation and applications (health, sport, aerospace, automotive, defense, civil, etc.).

The 4D Printing Society invites abstracts and papers from researchers, students, and working professionals from academia as well as industry within the scope of the conference topics.

A half-day workshop / training school will also be held one day before the conference (July 8, 2026) for students, early-career researchers, and professionals interested in advanced materials and manufacturing.

Further event details, including information on submissions and registration, can be found by clicking here.

Submission, Publications and Awards

• Speakers are invited to submit 1-page abstract. Please use this template: 4DMDA-2026_Abstract_Template.
• To attend the conference as a speaker, please submit your 1-page abstract (1 PDF file including title, list of authors, affiliations, maximum of 1000 words, and keywords) via the following submission tab no later than 30 March, 2026.
• Abstracts will be peer-reviewed, and authors will be notified of acceptance/revision/rejection.
• At least one author of every accepted abstract must register for the conference via the Eventbrite online payment. Please check the registration section.
• Non-submitters are also welcome to attend the conference as audience members.

All participants are invited to submit their high-quality full-length papers or short communications for peer-review and publication in the following journals:

4D Printing (standard subscription and open access options)

Smart Materials and Structures (standard subscription and open access options)

International Journal of Bioprinting  (full open access)

International Journal of AI for Materials and Design (open access with full waivers for article processing charges)

Designs (open access)

Registration

To register your attendance for this event, click here.