Wanliang Shan

Associate Professor

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

237 Link Hall

washan@syr.edu

315.443.4121

Personal Website

Degrees:

  • Ph.D. Princeton University
  • B.E. University of Science & Technology of China (USTC)

Areas of Expertise:

  • Solid Mechanics
  • Materials Engineering
  • Soft Robotics
  • Machine Learning
  • Thermophysics

Lab/Center Affiliation:

  • BioInspired Institute

Current Research:

Shan Research Group (SRG) focuses on interdisciplinary research in Smart, Hybrid, Active and Nature-inspired Materials, Mechanics, and Machines (SHAN 3M). Fundamental insights from solid mechanics, materials engineering, thermal science, and machine learning are emphasized for the design and fabrication of soft multifunctional materials and high-performance robotic mechanisms, which impact critical application domains such as soft robotics, biomedical devices, and wearable devices. The ultimate goal of SRG’s research is to improve human-machine-environment interactions. 

Teaching Interests:

  • Introduction to Robotics
  • Soft Robotics
  • Continuum Mechanics
  • Fracture Mechanics

Honors and Awards:

  • NSF Career Award (2023)
  • Graduate with Great Honor (magna cum laude), USTC (2006) 

Select Publications:

* for corresponding authors. ◦ for co-first authors.

  • C. Zhao, K.T. Wan*, W.L. Shan*, Progressive Adhesion Mechanics of Elastomeric Shells against a Rigid Substrate: from Thin to Thick, Extreme Mechanics Letters, 68:102140, 2024.
  • G. Wan, W.L. Shan*, Pneumatically Tunable Adherence of Elastomeric Soft Hollow Pillars with Non-Circular Contact, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 294:112736, 2024.
  • G. Wan, Y. Tang, K.T. Turner, T. Zhang*, W.L. Shan*, Tunable Dry Adhesion of Soft Hollow Pillars through Sidewall Buckling under Low Pressure, Advanced Functional Materials, 33(2):2209905, 2023.
  • C. Zhao, X. Chen, W.L. Shan*, K.T. Wan*, Adherence of a Hyperelastic Shell on a Rigid Planar Substrate. International Journal of Solids and Structures, 236:111351, 2022.
  • A. Mohammadi Nasab, A. Luo, P. Stampfli, S. Sharifi, K.T. Turner*, W.L. Shan*, Dynamically Tunable Dry Adhesion Through a Subsurface Thin Layer with Tunable Stiffness. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 9(7):2102080, 2022.
  • S. Sharifi, C. Rux, N. Sparling, G. Wan, A. Mohammadi Nasab, A. Siddaiah, P. Menezes, T. Zhang, W.L. Shan*, Dynamically Tunable Friction via Subsurface Stiffness Modulation, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 8:691789, 2021.
  • A. Mohammadi Nasab, S. Sharifi, S. Chen, W.L. Shan*, Robust three-component elastomer-particle-fiber composites with tunable properties for soft robotics, Advanced Intelligent Systems, 3:2000166, 2021.
  • A. Mohammadi Nasab, A. Luo, S. Sharifi, K.T. Turner*, W.L. Shan*, Soft Gripping Device Based on Pneumatics-Modulated Tunable Dry Adhesion, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2020.
  • A. Luo◦, A. Mohammadi Nasab◦, M. Tatari, S. Chen, W.L. Shan*, K.T. Turner*. Adhesion of flat-ended pillars with non-circular contacts, Soft Matter, 2020. Link
  • M. Tatari, A. Mohammadi Nasab, K.T. Turner*, W.L. Shan*, Dynamically Tunable Dry Adhesion via Sub-Surface Stiffness Modulation, Advanced Materials Interfaces, 5:1800321, 2018.
  • A. Mohammadi Nasab, D. Wang, Z. Chen, W.L. Shan*, Buckling Shape Transition of an Embedded Thin Elastic Rod after Failure of Surrounding Elastic Medium, Extreme Mechanics Letters, 15:51-56, 2017.
  • A. Mohammadi Nasab◦, A. Sabzehzar◦, M. Tatari, C. Majidi, W.L. Shan*, A Soft Gripper with Rigidity Tunable Elastomer Strips as Ligaments, Soft Robotics, 2017.
  • A. Tutcuoglu, C. Majidi*, W.L. Shan*, Nonlinear Thermal Parameter Estimation for Embedded Internal Joule Heaters, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 97:12-421, 2016.
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