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Xuanhe Zhao

More About Xuanhe

Contact Info

room 1-310D

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

77 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

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Associated Research Areas
Administrative Contact Spinelli, Christina 1-310 617.253.5328

Professor Zhao News + Media

Sealing Wounds with Tape

Sealing Wounds with Tape

MIT engineers led by Associate Professor Xuanhe Zhao have designed a double-sided tape that can seal tissues in just five seconds. The tape could eventually replace surgical sutures, which don’t work well in all tissues and can cause complications in some patients.

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Inflatable robotic hand gives amputees real-time tactile control

Inflatable robotic hand gives amputees real-time tactile control

Professor Xuanhe Zhao has developed an inflatable robotic hand. The low-cost soft prosthetic hand could be used by low-income families who have suffered from amputation.

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Engineers 3D print soft, rubbery brain implants

Engineers 3D print soft, rubbery brain implants

Professor Xuanhe Zhao has 3-D-printed soft electronically active polymers into devices, developing flexible neural implants that can gently conform to the brain’s contours and monitor activity longer.

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Faculty Details

Education

  • 2009

    HARVARD UNIVERSITY

    Ph.D.

  • 2008

    HARVARD UNIVERSITY

    M.Sc.

  • 2006

    UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

    M.Sc.

  • 2003

    Tianjin University

    BE

Research Interests

  • Soft materials: hydrogels, bioadhesives, bioelectronics, electro-magneto-active polymers, soft robotics.
  • Solid mechanics: large deformation, instability, fracture, fatigue, adhesion, multiple-field coupling.
  • Societal impacts: health, water, food, sustainability.

Bio

Xuanhe Zhao is a professor of mechanical engineering and civil and environmental engineering (by courtesy) at MIT. The mission of Zhao Lab at MIT is to advance science and technology on the interfaces between humans and machines for addressing grand societal challenges in health and sustainability with integrated expertise in mechanics, materials and biotechnology. A major focus of Zhao Lab's current research is the study and development of soft materials and systems. 
 
Dr. Zhao is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, SES Young Investigator Medal, ASME Hughes Young Investigator Award, Adhesion Society’s Young Scientist Award, Materials Today Rising Star Award, and Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher. He held the Hunt Faculty Scholar at Duke University, and the d'Arbeloff Career Development Chair and Noyce Career Development Professorship at MIT. 
 
Please refer to Representative Papers and Review Papers for overview of Zhao Lab's research; Selected Papers and All Papers for more details; Google Scholar and ResearchID for citations of Zhao Lab's papers.

Online Data

Honors + Awards

  • 01/2021, George N. Hatsopoulos (1949) Faculty Fellow, MIT
  • 11/2020, Thomas J.R. Hughes Young Investigator Award, ASME
  • 11/2018, Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher 2018
  • 09/2018, Materials Today Rising Star Award
  • 07/2017, Young Investigator Medal, Society of Engineering Science
  • 02/2017, Young Scientist Award, The Adhesion Society
  • 12/2015, Extreme Mechanics Letters Young Investigator Award, Elsevier
  • 07/2015, Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professorship, MIT
  • 02/2015, Journal of Applied Mechanics Award, ASME
  • 07/2014, d'Arbeloff Career Development Chair, MIT
  • 07/2014, Hunt Faculty Scholar, Duke University
  • 04/2014, Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, Office of Naval Research
  • 02/2014, Arthur K. Doolittle Award, ACS Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Division
  • 09/2013, US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, National Academy of Engineering
  • 12/2012, Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, National Science Foundation
  • 11/2012, Early Career Researchers Award, AVS Biomaterial Interfaces Division
  • 11/2011, Haythornthwaite Research Initiation Award, ASME Applied Mechanics Division

Related Experience

  • 02/2020-Present, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
  • 02/2020-Present, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (joint), MIT
  • 01/2015-02/2020, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
  • 01/2015-02/2020, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (joint), MIT
  • 09/2014-01/2015, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
  • 09/2014-01/2015, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (joint), MIT
  • 07/2010-09/2014, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University
  • 07/2009-07/2010, Postdoctoral Fellow in Biomedical Engineering, Harvard University

Memberships

  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • Materials Research Society
  • American Physical Society

Professional Service

  • 2021-present, Editorial Board, SmartMat
  • 2019-present, Associate Editor, Science Advances
  • 2015-present, Associate Editor in Chief, Acta Mechanica Sinica
  • 2015-present, Editorial Board, Scientific Reports
  • 2013-present, Editorial Board, International Journal of Applied Mechanics
  • 2013-2014, Editor, Journal Club of imechanica.org
  • 2013-2014, Chair of Technical Committee on Soft Material, ASME
  • 2012-2013, Vice Chair of Technical Committee on Soft Material, ASME
  • 2011-2012, Secretary of Technical Committee on Soft Material, ASME

MIT Service

  • 2014, 2015, Faculty Search Committee (Ad Hoc member), Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
  • 2014-present, Graduate Admissions Committee, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
  • 2014-present, MMEC Seminar Committee, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
  • 2016-present, SMSD Seminar Committee, School of Engineering. MIT

Teaching

  • 2.075 Mechanics of Soft Materials
  • 2.002 Mechanics and Materials II
  • 2.01 Elements of Structures
  • 2.02A Engineering Materials: Properties and Applications

Publications

Patents