Assistant Professor and David C. Crawford Faculty Scholar X. Shelly Zhang has been awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support her work in metamaterials optimization. This project is collaborated with Professor Stefano Gonella from the University of Minnesota.
The NSF-funded project aims to understand and design a new class of topological metamaterials with special surface and wave properties that can be programmed to display various levels of softness and rigidity, allowing them to manage intelligently the loads/impact applied by the outside environment.
Zhang says the project will include designing some very unique structures for applications such as tires for space vehicles or for operating in hazardous environments, as well as protective equipment that can sustain impacts from projectiles, and soft robotic devices with sensing capabilities.
She recently led another innovative materials project that developed a new composite material designed to change behaviors depending on temperature in order to perform specific tasks. These materials are poised to be part of the next generation of autonomous robotics that will interact with the environment.
Zhang joined the CEE faculty in 2018. She is also an alumna of CEE at Illinois, having earned her bachelor’s (2012) and master’s (2014) degrees in the department. Zhang is affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Her research interests are in the general areas of topology optimization, stochastic programming, machine learning, multi-scale metamaterials, additive manufacturing and 3D/4D printing. She directs the MISSION Laboratory (MultI-functional Structures and Systems desIgn OptimizatioN), which focuses on exploring topology optimization, stochastic programming, and additive manufacturing to develop multi-functional, resilient, sustainable, and innovative engineering infrastructure and materials for applications at different scales, from as large as high-rise buildings to as small as material microstructures.