Book excerpt: Advanced Lightweight Multifunctional Materials presents the current state-of-the-art on multifunctional materials research, focusing on different morphologies and their preparation and applications. The book emphasizes recent advances on these types of materials as well as their application. Chapters cover porous multifunctional materials, thermochromic and thermoelectric materials, shape memory materials, piezoelectric multifunctional materials, electrochromic and electrorheological, soft materials, magnetic and photochromic materials, and more. The book will be a valuable reference resource for academic researchers and industrial engineers working in the design and manufacture of multifunctional materials, composites and nanocomposites. - Provides detailed information on design, modeling and structural applications - Focuses on characteristics, processing, design and applications - Discusses the main types of lightweight multifunctional materials and processing techniques, as well as the physico-chemical insights that can lead to improved performance