Bahattin Koc

Materials science is at the crossroad between fundamental and applied sciences. Whether enabling clean energy, next-generation computing, or advanced manufacturing, it shapes the tools we use and the systems we build. As our societies undergo rapid digital, environmental, and technological transitions, materials science becomes even more central. It's a space where innovation can respond to practical challenges while aligning with broader social values. In the European context, that means supporting sustainability, openness, and solidarity -while also strengthening competitiveness.This roadmap explores how digital tools-especially simulation, data science, and AI-are transforming materials research, in connection with the twin digital and energy transition. The digital transition refers to the widespread adoption of digital technologies and data-driven methods across sectors, while the green (or energy) transition focuses on shifting toward sustainable, lowcarbon energy systems-together forming what is often called the twin transition, a joint effort to make economies both smarter and more sustainable.The Roadmap outlines both the technical directions and the cultural shifts needed to make this transformation inclusive and effective. Chapters span from atomic-scale simulations to advanced experimentation, from reproducibility to intelligent optimization, and from institutional reform to education for the next generation.Importantly, this isn't a single viewpoint. The document brings together a wide range of voices: researchers from different disciplines, working across length and time scales. It includes early-career scientists and senior experts. Enabled by activities supported by European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), it reflects a commitment to gender and geographic diversity. This plurality doesn't just enrich the content-it makes the vision more robust and relevant.We hope this collection serves not just as a guide, but as an invitation to collaborate-across fields, sectors, and borders-as we reimagine the future of materials science in a digital age.

Yang et al comment on our article by Zahrabi et al (2025 Biofabrication 17 045011 10.1088/1758-5090/adf803) titled ‘3D melt electrowritten MXene-reinforced scaffolds for tissue engineering applications’ reporting the first demonstration of melt electrowritten (MEW) MXene/PCL scaffolds and their pro-osteogenic cellular response without exogenous growth factors. Here, we respond by clarifying MXene’s role during MEW processing and its contribution to tissue scaffold properties by defining future research directions. Importantly, the MXene within the PCL scaffolds does not exhibit high electrical conductivity as pristine 2D MXene films do, since the investigated loadings are below the electrical percolation threshold. Therefore, bulk conductivity is not expected to dominate scaffold behavior. Instead, we attribute improved print resolution and stability to MXene-enabled interfacial and thermal effects that can stabilize the MEW jet and enhance filament definition. In addition, favorable interactions between MXene surface terminations and PCL strengthen interfacial adhesion and influence crystallization and degradation kinetics. We further discuss the surface functionalization strategies (e.g. APTES functionalization) that can improve MXene–polymer compatibility and may reduce oxidation susceptibility. Building on these points, we envision next steps including (i) investigation of osteoinductive signaling pathways mechanism, (ii) complementary in vivo assessment in standard bone-defect models, (iii) fabrication of scalable structures by the development of hybrid manufacturing routes combining with MEW such as extrusion/hydrogel casting or electrospinning, and (iv) AI-guided optimization using existing material composition and process–structure models as a design constraint.

Green synthesis is increasingly popular due to the focus on sustainability and biowaste recycling. This study explores zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) synthesized using broccoli extract, with carbon powder derived from calcined broccoli pulp as an alternative to commercial carbon in electrochemical slurries. Powders were characterized, and slurries were prepared in a three-electrode system with 6 molar (M) potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte. Results showed that biowaste carbon in 50–70 nm ZnO NPs slurry increased specific capacitance by 74.64 Farad/gram (F/g). The ZnO NPs/biowaste carbon powder retained 64% stability after 500 cycles, with 400 degrees Celsius (°C) identified as the optimal calcination temperature for asymmetric supercapacitors. Thanks to this study, the energy applications of materials produced by recycling biowaste in a sustainable and non-toxic way have been examined in detail for the first time.