We are glad to inform that our colleague Mohammad has received the DAAD fellowship (short term grant) for a period of 4 months. Through this fellowship, he is going to join the Institute for Mechanics and Control Engineering – Mechatronics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Siegen, Germany. In collaboration with Prof. Dr.-Ing. PD Kerstin Weinberg, he will develop and validate a modelling strategy based on finite element (FE) analysis of a representative volume element (RVE) of a functionally graded (FG) foam microstructure, to assess the mechanical performance of the FG foam materials subjected to the extremely high loading conditions. Protection against blast loading and any other extreme loading conditions (e.g. crash) are traditionally achieved by introducing cellular materials such as metallic or polymeric foams having uniform physical properties. Latter confines designers to create an optimized protective structure or to produce light and safe packaging. This modelling methodology will facilitate the design of functionally graded (FG) foams according to their application requirements (For example, energy absorption capacity in crash or maximum stress transmitted to the protected object) by tailoring the physical properties of the foam microstructure.