zuanwang@cityu.edu.hk

https://sites.google.com/view/zuankaiwang； 

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/mne/zuanwang/

Education

Postdoc in Biomedical Engineering—Columbia University, US, 2009

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering -- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, US, 2008

M.S. in Microelectronics -- Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 2003

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering -- Jilin University, China, 2000

Professional Employment

Full Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 07/ 2018 ~ present.

Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 07/ 2014 ~ 06/2018.

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 07/2011 ~ 06/2014.

Assistant Professor, Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong, 09/2009 ~ 06/2011.

Thermal-fluid

Fluid dynamics

Nature-inspired engineering

Soft matterFluid Dynamics 

We demonstrate that the pancake bouncing results from the rectification of capillary energy stored in the 

penetrated liquid into upward motion adequate to lift the drop. Moreover, the timescales for lateral drop 

spreading over the surface and for vertical motion must be comparable. In particular, by designing surfaces 

with tapered micro/nanotextures that behave as harmonic springs, the timescales become independent of 

the impact velocity, allowing the occurrence of pancake bouncing and rapid drop detachment over a wide 

range of impact velocities

Phase Change Condensation 

We demonstrate that the pancake bouncing results from the rectification of capillary energy stored in the 

penetrated liquid into upward motion adequate to lift the drop. Moreover, the timescales for lateral drop 

spreading over the surface and for vertical motion must be comparable. In particular, by designing surfaces 

with tapered micro/nanotextures that behave as harmonic springs, the timescales become independent of 

the impact velocity, allowing the occurrence of pancake bouncing and rapid drop detachment over a wide 

range of impact velocities

Soft Robotics 

We demonstrate that the pancake bouncing results from the rectification of capillary energy stored in the 

penetrated liquid into upward motion adequate to lift the drop. Moreover, the timescales for lateral drop 

spreading over the surface and for vertical motion must be comparable. In particular, by designing surfaces 

with tapered micro/nanotextures that behave as harmonic springs, the timescales become independent of 

the impact velocity, allowing the occurrence of pancake bouncing and rapid drop detachment over a wide 

range of impact velocities

Fellow of International Society of Bionic Engineering, 2019.

Top 10 Research Achievement Award in China Robot Society (No.1), 2019 Annual Conference of China Robot Industry, 2019.

The 35th World Cultural Council Special Recognition Award, 2018.

President Lectureship, City University of Hong Kong, 2018.

Founding Member of Young Academy of Science of Hong Kong, 2017.

Changjiang Chair Professor, Ministry of Education, China, 2017.

Outstanding Research Award (Senior Category), City University of Hong Kong, 2017.

President’s Award, City University of Hong Kong, 2017.

Outstanding Youth Award, International Society of Bionic Engineering (two awardees worldwide every three years), 2016.

OSA Young Scientist Award, 2016.

President’s Award, City University of Hong Kong, 2016.

“Future Leaders” selected by the New York Academy of Sciences and Science and Technology in Society Forum, 2013.

Outstanding Overseas Students Award, Ministry of Education of China, 2007.

Materials Research Society (MRS) Graduate Student Silver Award, 2007.

1.Wanghuai Xu, Huanxi Zheng, Yuan Liu, Xiaofeng Zhou, Chao Zhang, Yuxin Song, Xu Deng, Michael Leung, Zhengbao Yang, Ronald X. Xu, Zhonglin Wang, Xiao Cheng Zeng, Zuankai Wang. A droplet-based electricity generator with high instantaneous power density. Nature, 578, 392 (2020). 

Highlighted as the Headline of Physics World, featured as The Paper of the Month by the Latest Science, and reported by over 50 news outlets.

2.Qiangqiang Sun, Dehui Wang, Yanan Li, Jiahui Zhang, Shuji Ye, Jiaxi Cui, Longquan Chen, Zuankai Wang, Hans-Jürgen Butt, Vollmer Doris, Xu Deng. Surface charge printing for programmed droplet transport. Nature Materials, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-019-0440-2 (Corresponding author).

Highlighted by Nature.

3.Wanbo Li, Miao Yu, Jing Sun, Kentaro Mochizuki, Siyu Chen, Huanxi Zheng, Jiaqian Li, Shuhuai Yao, Hongkai Wu, Satoshi Kawata, Beng S. Ong, Zuankai Wang, Kangning Ren. Crack engineering for the construction of arbitrary hierarchical architectures. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, 116,23909 (2019) (co-corresponding author).

4.Haojian Lu, Mei Zhang, Yuanyuan Yang, Qiang Huang, Toshio Fukuda, Zuankai Wang, Yajing Shen. A bio-inspired multi-legged millirobot that functions in both dry and wet conditions. Nature Communications, 9, 3944 (2018).

5.Yanhua Zhao, Yang Wu, Liang Wang, Manman Zhang, Xuan Chen, Minjie Liu， Jun Fan, Junqiu Liu, Feng Zhou, Zuankai Wang. Bio-inspired reversible underwater adhesive. Nature Communications, 8, 2218 (2017)