Description and objectives: Soft robots find application in numerous sectors, e.g., automotive, aerospace, wearable, pharmaceutical, medical, and renewable energy, where failure and fracture issues represent a major concern. The aim of this research project is to develop theoretical and computational models, corroborated by experimental measurements, for the calibration of failure and fracture properties of soft polymers. Specifically, the successful candidate will work new constitutive theories for thermo-responsive shape memory polymers, enhanced with descriptions of failure and fracture and self-healing features, and on their numerical implementation within a finite element environment. The interested candidate will have the possibility to run specific experiments on 3D printed samples to validate numerical results. This research is in collaboration with Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. A research visit to this institution can be planned during the research contract.