Prof. HUANG Yonggang of Northwestern University delivers a distinguished lecture on shape programmable 3D mesostructures and functional devices

Prof. HUANG Yonggang, Jan and Marcia Achenbach Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University in the United States, delivered the 28^th PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Shape Programmable Three-Dimensional Mesostructures and Functional Devices” on 8 August 2024 at PolyU. The lecture attracted more than 100 participants to join in person and captivated an online viewing audience of over 15,500 from different countries and regions to watch the live broadcast on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili, WeChat, Weibo, YouTube, etc.

The lecture commenced with a warm welcome and brief speaker introduction by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR. During the presentation, Prof. Huang highlighted that many biological systems, such as venue flytraps and nepenthes, exhibit multistable or shape-shifting features. He emphasised the current challenge in the development of morphing structures, pointing out that the complex shape-shifting processes involved in many biological functions are complicated to reproduce by artificial structures. Next, he introduced the assembly approach for achieving multistable 3D mesostructures. The approach proposed by Prof. Huang and his team works similarly to children’s “pop-up” books—it controls the process of substrate compression to deform 2D patterned micro/nano structures into extended 3D layouts. He used videos and images to show how different 2D ribbon patterns can result in different 3D ribbon configurations and reconfigurable structures with diverse geometries. After that, Prof. Huang explained the concepts of shape programming and continuous shape-shifting, and showed some of the research by him and his team to illustrate how 2D precursors can be deformed to various 3D target shapes under external electromagnetic actuation. He also pointed out three significant challenges in achieving shape programme surfaces. At last, Prof. Huang showed examples of how this technology is used to make 3D submillimetre-scale robots and 3D displays. To conclude, he emphasised that the same precursor structure can be deformed to many target shapes by electromagnetic force, and this new tool can bring many novel functions and unique applications.

Following the presentation was a lively and insightful question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Chen. The audience had a fruitful discussion with Prof. Huang. As a token of appreciation for his inspiring talk and support for PAIR, a souvenir was presented to Prof. Huang by Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation).

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