article published yes Yuxing Yao author Atalaya Milan Wilborn author Baptiste Lemaire author Foteini Trigka author Friedrich J Stricker author 7aca2cfc-46cf-11f0-abd3-8c96b5186745 Alan H. Weible author Shucong Li author Robert K. A. Bennett author Tung Chun Cheung author Alison Grinthal author Mikhail Zhernenkov author Guillaume Freychet author Patryk Wąsik author Boris Kozinsky author Michael M. Lerch author Xiaoguang Wang author Joanna Aizenberg author Ambidirectionality, which is the ability of structural elements to move beyond a reference state in two opposite directions, is common in nature. However, conventional soft materials are typically limited to a single, unidirectional deformation unless complex hybrid constructs are used. We exploited the combination of mesogen self-assembly, polymer chain elasticity, and polymerization-induced stress to design liquid crystalline elastomers that exhibit two mesophases: chevron smectic C (cSmC) and smectic A (SmA). Inducing the cSmC-SmA–isotropic phase transition led to an unusual inversion of the strain field in the microstructure, resulting in opposite deformation modes (e.g., consecutive shrinkage or expansion and right-handed or left-handed twisting and tilting in opposite directions) and high-frequency nonmonotonic oscillations. This ambidirectional movement is scalable and can be used to generate Gaussian transformations at the macroscale. American Association for the Advancement of Science2024 eng 0036-8075 1095-9203 3963699810.1126/science.adq6434 38667261161-1168 yes Yao Y, Wilborn AM, Lemaire B, et al. Programming liquid crystal elastomers for multistep ambidirectional deformability. <i>Science</i>. 2024;386(6726):1161-1168. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq6434">10.1126/science.adq6434</a> Y. Yao, A.M. Wilborn, B. Lemaire, F. Trigka, F.J. Stricker, A.H. Weible, S. Li, R.K.A. Bennett, T.C. Cheung, A. Grinthal, M. Zhernenkov, G. Freychet, P. Wąsik, B. Kozinsky, M.M. Lerch, X. Wang, J. Aizenberg, Science 386 (2024) 1161–1168. Yao, Yuxing, et al. “Programming Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Multistep Ambidirectional Deformability.” <i>Science</i>, vol. 386, no. 6726, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2024, pp. 1161–68, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq6434">10.1126/science.adq6434</a>. Y. Yao <i>et al.</i>, “Programming liquid crystal elastomers for multistep ambidirectional deformability,” <i>Science</i>, vol. 386, no. 6726. American Association for the Advancement of Science, pp. 1161–1168, 2024. Yao, Y., Wilborn, A. M., Lemaire, B., Trigka, F., Stricker, F. J., Weible, A. H., … Aizenberg, J. (2024). Programming liquid crystal elastomers for multistep ambidirectional deformability. <i>Science</i>. American Association for the Advancement of Science. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq6434">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq6434</a> Yao, Yuxing, Atalaya Milan Wilborn, Baptiste Lemaire, Foteini Trigka, Friedrich J Stricker, Alan H. Weible, Shucong Li, et al. “Programming Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Multistep Ambidirectional Deformability.” <i>Science</i>. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2024. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq6434">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq6434</a>. Yao Y, Wilborn AM, Lemaire B, Trigka F, Stricker FJ, Weible AH, Li S, Bennett RKA, Cheung TC, Grinthal A, Zhernenkov M, Freychet G, Wąsik P, Kozinsky B, Lerch MM, Wang X, Aizenberg J. 2024. Programming liquid crystal elastomers for multistep ambidirectional deformability. Science. 386(6726), 1161–1168. 218172026-05-06T10:54:51Z2026-05-12T09:48:12Z