Liu Ji

Liu Ji is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China, holding this position since January 2020 after serving as an Assistant Professor from September 2019 to December 2020.

Dr. Liu received dual PhD degrees in 2013 - one in Physiochemistry of Condensed Materials from the University of Bordeaux, France, and another in Chemistry from the University of Liege, Belgium. His postdoctoral training included positions at the University of Cambridge (2014-2018) as a Marie-Curie Research Fellow and at MIT (2018-2019), with an additional visiting fellowship at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Liu's research program focuses on soft materials engineering, bioinspired design and fabrication, soft materials mechanics, 3D printing, biomaterials, and soft electronics. His work particularly emphasizes developing functional soft materials with extreme mechanical properties and their applications in biointerfaces, dynamic adhesion, and human-machine interfaces. His research group explores how to design, fabricate, and engineer soft materials that can mimic biological systems for biomedical applications and advanced manufacturing.

Dr. Liu has published over 40 papers in high-impact journals including Science Advances, Nature Communications, PNAS, Accounts of Chemical Research, and Advanced Materials. His publications demonstrate consistent innovation in soft materials, particularly in fatigue-resistant hydrogels, supramolecular polymer networks, and biointerface engineering. Two of his papers have been selected as ESI Highly Cited Papers, indicating significant field impact.

• IAAM Scientist Medal (2022)
• Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Mining & Minerals (2021)
• MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 in China (2020)
• Guangdong Pearl River Talents Program (2020)
• Overseas High-Caliber Personnel in ShenZhen (2020)
• Japan Polymer Group Young Investigator Award (2017)
• Marie-Curie Research Fellow (2015)

Dr. Liu leads a vibrant research group at SUSTech, mentoring students and establishing international collaborations. His work has received widespread attention, featured in Materials Views China, MIT News, Phys.org, and Materials Today, with his research highlighted on MIT's homepage. His Soft Matter Design and Manufacturing Platform develops novel intelligent soft material technologies through interdisciplinary approaches combining mechanics, materials, physics, and engineering.