Shu Yang 
By the time most stroke patients arrive at a hospital, the earliest biological changes are already underway, making these first moments elusive and hard to investigate. Now, Penn Engineers and collaborators at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have developed a tiny inflatable device that is making those first moments visible. Read more
Inspired by the cracked, water-trapping skin of elephants, Penn researchers have developed a low-cost cement tile that cools buildings by capturing and slowly evaporating water—turning a structural flaw into a climate solution. Read more
This award recognized Prof. Shu Yang’s exceptional ability to combine materials synthesis, experimental creativity, and deep mechanical understanding to address fundamental scientific questions while enabling real-world applications to control adhesion, friction, and contact behavior. Specifically, Prof. Yang has made pioneering contributions to the understanding and application of surface and interfacial phenomena in soft materials. Read … Read more
When a knot lets go, it doesn’t just fall apart. It snaps. The Yang lab shows that a millimeter-sized, knotted soft robot can leap meters into the air, flipping mid-flight, spinning like a propeller. Adding a wing extends that control into the air. The robot can curves back toward its starting point, like a boomerang … Read more
What do elephant skin, kirigami, and algae have in common? Dr. Shu Yang explains the material science behind nature’s best ideas. listen to the podcast from Lexicon by Interesting Engineering.
Tackling large socio-environmental issues like climate change and global freshwater scarcity, Shu Yang’s team eyes for natural solutions. Imitating two unlikely products of nature: raspberries and sunflowers, they introduces a scalable, solar-driven water harvesting device that collects moisture from the air. Read more
Penn engineers, materials scientists, and designers have developed a 3D-printed concrete solution based on diatomaceous earth that has enhanced carbon capture, is stronger, and uses fewer materials like cement. Read more
A multidisciplinary team of researchers have successfully developed a cutting-edge method to 3D print cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs), opening the door to dynamic, color-changing materials that can respond to mechanical stress. Read more
Shu Yang is named as one of National Geographic’s 33 Extraordinary Changemakers who are creating a better future for the planet. Yang is recognized for her pioneering work in biomimicry, a field dedicated to finding innovative solutions to global problems by studying and emulating patterns in the natural world. Read more
One of the greatest contributors to climate change is the built environment. Concrete production alone accounts for a significant share of all global carbon dioxide emissions. To train students to create sustainable buildings, Penn Engineering has partnered with the Stuart Weitzman School of Design for CLIMATE-CARE, a $3M NSF-funded NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Award. Read … Read more
