title: Trends and challenges in the mechanics of complex materials: a view.
abstract: This article introduces the collection of papers in this issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A and offers a perspective view on the description of the mechanics of material characterized by a prominent influence of small-scale phenomena on the gross mechanical behaviour.
authors.affiliation: DICeA, University of Florence, via Santa Marta 3, Firenze 50139, Italy paolo.mariano@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Paolo Maria
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Mariano
keywords: complex materials; condensed matter; continuum mechanics; multi-field theories