Xuanhe Zhao

1. Can hydrogels breathe? In our new Nature paper, we show that only 2-4 wt% aerogels can enhance hydrogel air permeability by more than 10× through viscoelastic phase separation—while preserving water-rich, tissue-like properties. nature.com/articles/s4158…

@CTLimLab @WeiGaoLab @GT_HongYeo Wonderful arrangement!

Conference and World Cup do mix! Started the day with a plenary talk at IEEE FLEPS, and after the conference ended, it was off to watch the World Cup semifinal between England & Argentina. Perfect timing! Many thanks to @WeiGaoLab and @GT_HongYeo for the invitation!

In a @natBME paper, a team, including researchers in @MIT_CEE and @MITMechE, has developed a noninvasive pacemaker that stimulates the heart using ultrasound. The design could one day provide a surgery-free alternative to traditional cardiac implants. news.mit.edu/2026/ultrasoun…

4. Congratulations to @XiaoYunYan, @shucong_li_hhh, and all coauthors and collaborators for this exciting work. @MIT @MITMechE @MIT_IMES @MIT_CEE @MITEngineering @mit_nano

3. This air-rich/water-rich architecture also enables new functions that conventional hydrogels cannot easily achieve, including ultrasound-responsive hydrogel artificial muscles and soft actuators that can be remotely actuated in water.

1. Can hydrogels breathe? In our new Nature paper, we show that only 2-4 wt% aerogels can enhance hydrogel air permeability by more than 10× through viscoelastic phase separation—while preserving water-rich, tissue-like properties. nature.com/articles/s4158…

We are delighted to continue the new season of the #EML_Webinar Series with a webinar by @MiguelABessa from @BrownUniversity on 15 July 2026 via Zoom. Title: Disentangling Uncertainty in AI for Engineering. The discussion will be led by Prof. Kaushik Bhattacharya from @Caltech

Postdoctoral positions at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART). We are particularly interested in motivated candidates in hydrogels, cell therapy, and biomanufacturing. lnkd.in/gUTv4J3s

Excited to share that our Editor-Invited Review, titled "Mechano-Diffusion of Particles in Hydrogels", is just published in Extreme Mechanics Letter. This is a joint work in collaboration with Prof. Jingjie Yeo @JingjieYeo at Cornell. Link: lnkd.in/gY6yFqtp

@Zhiliang_Bai Thank you @Zhiliang_Bai !

@ProfZhaoMIT Huge congratulations 🎉 to Xuanhe and your team!

🕒 Time matters in elastomer fracture 🌡️ Stretch rate and temperature shape crack growth ⚡ Loading level sets bond tension and rupture kinetics 🧩 Entanglements modify the fracture response 🔁 Reframing vc–Gc: load as cause, crack speed as effect 📄 Read: doi.org/10.1016/j.eml.…

Congrats to @AIHealthMIT PI Elazer @EdelmanLab for receiving the 2026-2027 Killian Award, @MIT's highest faculty honor! "He is a clinician of the highest order...a teacher of greatest passion...and an engineer whose work has reached around the globe." news.mit.edu/2026/elazer-ed…

⏳ Less than 2 weeks to go! 🚀Join the #AIXSummit to explore how AI is reshaping our world. Don't miss our incredible lineup: 🎙️ Keynotes: @ylecun & @AndrewWLo 🛋️ Fireside Chat: @NobelPrize David MacMillan Secure your spot today 👉aafuturefoundation.org/aix2026/ #AI

I will give a talk @Penn tomorrow (3/26). Welcome if you are around.

🌬️ Flow-induced reconfiguration, made simple A new FE approach couples corotational plates with a simplified drag model. ⚡ Faster than full CFD–FE coupling 🧪 Validated on plates, disks & kirigami sheets 📄 Read: doi.org/10.1016/j.eml.… #FSI #mechanics #EML

🌍 Do slip-weakening law shapes matter? Even with the same fracture energy, the shape of the friction law changes rupture dynamics. ⚡ Different shapes → distinct slip-velocity peaks 🧱 Different responses to barriers 📄 Read: doi.org/10.1016/j.eml.… #earthquake #fracture

@Junsoo_twit Congratulations!

Excited to share our new paper, “Trapping Polymer Entanglements via Prolonged Initiation,” now published in Macromolecules — and honored to be selected as an ACS Editor’s Choice article. doi.org/10.1021/acs.ma…