Assistant Professor
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
LLao02@syr.edu
Lab/ Center/ Institute affiliation
- Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental Energy Systems
Areas of Expertise:
- Polymers, fibers and textiles
- Soft materials
- Smart materials
- Bio-inspired design and manufacturing
- Personal thermal and moisture management
- Advanced materials for the built environment
Lao’s research focuses on understanding the interaction among the human body and environment, and improving their performance by developing advanced materials and smart systems. The prioritized area will be thermal and moisture management for the human body and the built environment. Particularly, the group will use biomimetic approaches inspired by nature for the materials design and engineering based on polymers, fibers, textiles, soft materials, smart materials and advanced manufacturing. The goal is to contribute both scientific fundamentals and practical materials to serve some global challenges such as human health, environment, energy and sustainability.
Honors and Awards:
- AATCC Foundation Student Research Grant
- Finalists of Woolmark Performance Challenge
- Six Sigma Green Belt Project Leader, Dow Chemical
- Chu Kochen President Scholarship, Zhejiang University
Selected Publications:
[1] Lihong Lao, Dahua Shou, Yuen Shing Wu, Jintu Fan. “Skin-like” fabric for personal moisture management. Science Advances, 2020(6), eaaz0013.
[2] Lihong Lao, Hedan Bai, Jintu Fan. Water Responsive Fabrics with Artificial Leaf Stomata. Advanced Fiber Materials, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-023-00269-5.
[3] Guanghan Huang, Xin Wei, Yuheng Gu, Zhanxiao Kang, Lihong Lao, Li Li, Jintu Fan, Dahua Shou. Heterogeneously engineered porous media for directional and asymmetric liquid transport, Cell Reports Physical Science, 2022 (3), 100710.
[4] Chao Zou†, Lihong Lao†, Qing Chen, Jintu Fan, Dahua Shou. Nature-inspired moisture management fabric for unidirectional liquid transport and surface repellence and resistance. Energy and Buildings, 2021(248), 111203. (†Co-1st)
[5] Lihong Lao, Liling Fu, Genggeng Qi, Emmanuel P. Giannelis, Jintu Fan. Superhydrophilic wrinkle-free cotton fabrics via plasma and nanofluid treatment. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017 (9), 38109-38116.
[6] Lihong Lao, Sanlin S. Robinson, Bryan Peele, Huichan Zhao, Benjamin C. Mac Murray, James K. Min, Bobak Mosadegh, Simon Dunham, Robert F. Shepherd. Selective mineralization of tough hydrogel lumens for simulating arterial plaque. Advanced Engineering Materials, 2017 (19), 1600591. (Highlighted in Advanced Science News)