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Shape Memory and Superelasticity is pleased to announce the winners of the Volume 11 Best Paper Awards. The awards were chosen by the editorial team of Shape Memory and Superelasticity, and all papers published in Volume 11 were considered.

The 2025 Best Paper winner, published in the June 2025 issue, is "Toward Advancing Elastocaloric Performance in Shape Memory Alloys Through Additive Manufacturing: Novel Conceptual Designs and Preliminary Insights" by Saeedeh Vanaei, Shiva Mohajerani, Pete Rocco, Mahyar Sojoodi, Mohammad Pourshams, and Mohammad Elahinia, University of Toledo.

The 2025 Honorable Mention winner, published in the December 2025 issue, is "Generation of Plastic Strains by the Martensitic Transformations under Stress via Dislocation Slip in Martensite as the Origin of Functional Fatigue"  by Petr Šittner, Ludek Heller, Elizaveta Iaparova, Lukáš Kadeřávek, Orsolya Molnárová, and Ondrej Tyc, Institute of Physics of the CAS.

Both of these papers are free access for you to download and read. The Shape Memory and Superelasticity Editorial Advisory Board and the editors of the journal extend their congratulations to the authors for winning this prestigious award!

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Emily Glorioso
ASM Employee
ASM International
Novelty OH
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Congratulations to the authors of these outstanding papers and to the entire Shape Memory and Superelasticity community! These award-winning contributions highlight the exciting advancements happening across the field; from innovative additive manufacturing approaches for elastocaloric applications to deeper understanding of functional fatigue mechanisms in shape memory alloys.

We encourage members to take advantage of the free access to these papers and explore the important research being recognized by the editorial team. Thank you to the authors, reviewers, and editorial board for continuing to advance the science and application of shape memory and superelastic materials.

As a reminder, SMST members receive access to the Shape Memory and Superelasticity journal as part of their member benefit package, providing valuable access to the latest research and developments in the field.

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Nicole Hale
Director, Membership & Affiliates
ASM International
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Thank you for sharing! It truly is amazing how much progress is being made in the field of SMAs. I was struck by how the papers represent two unique research focuses, the first sighted on the practical development of SMA elastocaloric cooling devices, and the second focused on the foundational science related to plastic strain accumulation in SMAs and it's role in functional fatigue, which is key for almost all SMA devices. Both papers address key areas of research in the industry and they are a good reminder of how foundational discoveries and understanding of key phenomena eventually enable technology for the future. 

As someone who works in the additive manufacturing qualification space, the Best Paper content got me thinking about how we will eventually scale up additively manufactured elastocaloric device production. While additive manufacturing enables enhanced capabilities such as functional grading, geometrical optimization, and microstructural tuning, these also present unique challenges in qualifying, controlling, and scaling up production. It will require developing qualification frameworks that may be different than what we are traditionally used to for buying into new materials and processes. I look forward to how we will overcome these challenges together!

Which of these award-winning papers are you most excited to read, and why? We'd love to hear how these research topics connect to the work happening in your labs, companies, or classrooms.

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Eathan Devine
Research Engineer
The National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR)
Wichita KS
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