Buildings that cool like African elephants
Inspired by the cracked, water-trapping skin of elephants, Penn researchers have developed a low-cost cement tile that cools buildings by …
Shu Yang received the Award for Excellence in Adhesion Science by the Adhesion Society
This award recognized Prof. Shu Yang’s exceptional ability to combine materials synthesis, experimental creativity, and deep mechanical understanding to address …
Tiny, Knotted Robots Jump, Fly and Plant Seeds
When a knot lets go, it doesn’t just fall apart. It snaps. The Yang lab shows that a millimeter-sized, knotted …
A Nature-Inspired Leap in Water Harvesting Technology
Tackling large socio-environmental issues like climate change and global freshwater scarcity, Shu Yang’s team eyes for natural solutions. Imitating two …
Designing cleaner, greener concrete that absorbs carbon dioxide
Penn engineers, materials scientists, and designers have developed a 3D-printed concrete solution based on diatomaceous earth that has enhanced carbon …
New 3D-Printing Method Enables Color-Changing, Stress-Responsive Materials
A multidisciplinary team of researchers have successfully developed a cutting-edge method to 3D print cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs), opening …
Yang in Inaugural Nat Geo 33 Extraordinary Changemaker List
Shu Yang is named as one of National Geographic’s 33 Extraordinary Changemakers who are creating a better future for the …
A Learning Experience
As UPenn Engineering Postdoctoral Researcher Kun-Hao Yu transitions from his role to an Assistant Professor in the Civil and Environmental …
PhD Candidate Awarded Grant for Coral Reef Restoration
Sophia Jackson, the 1st year PhD student in the Yang group, has been awarded the 2024 ForEverglades Research Enhancement Grant …
Manipulating Materials, Shapes and Chemistry To Create Climate Change-Fighting Inventions
Shu Yang looks at her research through the lens of biomimicry: life forms and natural shapes have inspired her unique …
Engineered Magic: Wooden Seed Carriers Mimic the Behavior of Self-Burying Seed
How seeds implant themselves in soil can seem magical. During rain or high humidity, the corkscrew-like stalk of Erodium unwinds …
Kirigami Structures Pull Water from the Air
Climate change is forcing us to reshape our relationship with water. Collecting atmospheric water could help us adapt to both …
Kirigami Breast Reconstruction
For many breast cancer patients, the road to recovery may present hidden complications related to breast reconstruction following a mastectomy …
Snapping metacaps propel soft robot design
When a metacap “snaps”, it pops open and closed, pushing air back and forth. This snapping allows a soft robot …
An adhesive bandage not only bonds tightly but also releases quickly.
Most adhesives for wound dressings have either been too weak to keep wounds sealed, or too strong to be painlessly …