Lightweight, highly porous cellular materials play a critical role in diverse applications that include personal protection equipment, automobiles, airplanes, and spacecraft. The goal of this research project is to understand the physics that controls mechanical performance of a novel class of hybrid foam materials made by in-foam printing (IFP). The IFP process incorporates rigid struts in a foam matrix, combining the load-bearing capability of the struts with the stiffening effect of the foam. The project looks to design and construct a 5-degree of freedom apparatus for producing strut-foam Interpenetrating Phase Composite (IPC) structures based on the preliminary 3-degree of freedom device on which pilot studies have been performed. The flow patterns of resins in the foam and mechanics of IPCs made with continuous symmetric and asymmetric structured struts via IFP will be studied experimentally and theoretically. A particular feature of the mechanistic modeling will be understanding the load sharing between the foam and struts. The project seeks to create a new research-education integrated program at Florida A&M University (FAMU) with a focus on advanced manufacturing and aerospace materials, with the aim of promoting the launch of the first HBCU Aerospace Engineering graduate program at FAMU. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review