Expert Lecture Spotlight | Prof. Jan-Anders Månsson
Composites in Sports: A Testbed for Cutting-Edge Technologies
The playing field has become a proving ground for some of the world’s most advanced materials—often outpacing aerospace and automotive sectors in innovation cycles. In this inspiring lecture, Prof. Jan-Anders Månsson explores how composite materials in sports equipment are pushing the boundaries of performance, safety, and human potential.
Why Sports?
The sports industry offers a fast-paced, high-feedback environment where cutting-edge technologies—like high-performance composites—are adopted, tested, and refined at lightning speed. This makes sports an ideal testbed for innovation and a catalyst for broader industrial applications.
Key Insights Include:
- The use of composites for high stiffness-to-weight ratios, rapid energy restitution, and tailored damping for performance optimization and injury prevention
- The trade-offs between ultra-lightweight design and safety—such as the risk of brittleness in carbon fiber frames and wheels
- The role of athletes as hyper-tuned sensors, offering insights into human-equipment-environment interactions
- The integration of engineering and life sciences to enhance comfort, safety, and biomechanical performance for both elite and everyday athletes
Prof. Månsson also highlights the emergence of smart materials, embedded sensors, and interactive performance tracking—not only enhancing athletic output but also creating immersive, real-time fan experiences.
This lecture reveals how sports serve as a living lab for material science, offering cross-industry insights that ripple out into healthcare, mobility, and consumer product design.
Watch the full talk on the cdmHUB YouTube channel as part of the Global Composites Expert Webinar Series.
