1. Acoustic metamaterials and metasurfaces. Metamaterials are engineered structures with properties beyond conventional materials. Metasurfaces are the 2D equivalent of metamaterials with scatterers arranged in a subwavelength sheet. Together, these artificially engineered materials and structures offer unprecedented possibilities for wave control. We are interested in designing metamaterials and metasurfaces for acoustic wave manipulations, especially in a reconfigurable and high-efficient manner. Examples include developing passive structures for wavefront modulation, imaging and energy harvesting in a versatile manner.

2. Acoustofluidics and microfluidics. Another topic that is of interest to our lab is the acoustofluidics, i.e., the fusion of acoustics and microfluidics. In particular, we are intersted in the manipulation of microparticles and cells using bulk acoustic waves (BAWs) and surface acoustic waves (SAWs). By leveraging the acoustic radiation forces, we can manipulate microparticles in a versatile and non-contact manner. This can lead to a lot of biomedical applications such as cell separation and diagnostics.

3. Mechanical design and optimization. Optimization allows fine tuning of the structure parameters so that it achieves certain properties or can be responsive to external loads or excitations in a desired manner. In our lab, we apply multiple different approaches for the design and optimization of the materials and structures. We are particularly interested in inverse design strategies including machine learning and topology optimization to push the limits of functional materials.