Kai-tak Wan

Professor Kai-tak Wan is a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Northeastern University’s College of Engineering. His research focuses on cellular biomechanics, water filtration, thin film adhesion, subsurface mechano-sensing, and fundamental intersurface forces. He holds academic leadership roles, including serving as ASEE-NE Section Chair (2024–2026) and has been recognized with awards such as the 2014 COE Faculty Fellow and NSF CAREER Award.

Education:

• Ph.D. (1993), Chemical Physics, University of Maryland at College Park
• B.Sc. (1st Honors), Physics, University of New South Wales, Australia

Research Interests: Dr. Wan’s lab bridges biological and mechanical sciences, exploring biomechanics of cells, thin film reliability in photovoltaics, and adhesion mechanics in biomedical devices. His recent work includes modeling microbial transport in porous media, mechanical integrity of solar panels, and fusion of lipid bilayers.

Publications & Grants: Over 50 peer-reviewed articles, including highlighted works in Physics of Fluids and Nanoscale. Principal Investigator on NSF and NIST/DOE grants totaling over $1M, focusing on photovoltaic reliability and biomedical mechanics.

Labs & Teams: Leads the Micro/Nano Bio-Mechanical Characterization Lab, collaborating with researchers in materials science and biomedical engineering. Current projects include developing diagnostic palpation models and enhancing water filtration efficiency through surface adhesion studies.