Ruobing Bai
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Office
- 203 SN
- 617-373-7150
Lab
- 103 MUGAR
Research Focus
Solid mechanics and large deformation; Soft active materials: hydrogels, liquid crystal elastomers, and biomaterials; Fracture and adhesion of materials; Multi-physics of materials: mechanics, thermodynamics, chemistry, optics, and electromagnetism; Instability of materials
About
Ruobing Bai received his BS in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at Peking University in 2012, and PhD in Engineering Sciences at Harvard University in 2018. Prior to joining Northeastern in January 2021, he was a postdoctoral fellow in Mechanical and Civil Engineering at California Institute of Technology between 2018 and 2020. His research aims to combine theory and experiment in solid mechanics, soft active materials, large deformation, fracture and adhesion, multiphysics, and instability of materials. Applications include soft machines and robots, human health, human-machine interfaces, human augmentation, and biohybrid machines.
Education
- Ph.D., Engineering Sciences, Harvard University, 2018
- B.S., Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Peking University, 2012
Honors & Awards
- Best Poster Award, NEW MECH
- Haythornthwaite Student Travel Grants, ASME-IMECE
- Chun-Tsung Scholar, Peking University
Teaching Interests
Currently teaching:
ME 2340/2341: Introduction to Materials Science, Spring Semester
Research Overview
Solid mechanics and large deformation; Soft active materials: hydrogels, liquid crystal elastomers, and biomaterials; Fracture and adhesion of materials; Multi-physics of materials: mechanics, thermodynamics, chemistry, optics, and electromagnetism; Instability of materials
Machines in modern industry are mostly made of hard materials, while “machines” in nature, like organs and muscles, are mostly soft. The softness provides large deformation, enabling adaptability to and compatibility with the environment, as well as multi-functionality. Soft active materials are promising candidates for new applications unimaginable with hard machines. The primary research interest in our lab lies in the theory and experiment of soft active materials, especially hydrogels, liquid crystal elastomers, and biomaterials.
We aim to combine theory and experiment to address fundamental problems towards engineering applications of soft materials in all aspects. Our research takes advantage of multiphysics modeling including mechanics, thermodynamics, chemistry, optics, and electromagnetism. Our research also takes advantage of multiscale experimental characterization including mechanical testing, microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, optical interferometry, and other setups.
You are welcome to contact for potential opportunities of undergraduate research, PhD, postdoc, and visiting student/scholar. Please indicate your anticipated starting time.
Selected Publications
- Ruobing Bai, Eric Ocegueda, Kaushik Bhattacharya, “Photochemical-Induced Phase Transitions in Photoactive Semicrystalline Polymers”. Physical Review E, 2021, 103, 033003.
- Mutian Hua, Cheolgyu Kim, Yingjie Du, Dong Wu, Ruobing Bai, Ximin He, “Swaying Gel: Chemo-mechanical Self-Oscillation Based on Dynamic Buckling”. Matter, 2021, 4, 3, 1029-1041.
- Ruobing Bai, Ying Shi Teh, Kaushik Bhattacharya, “Collective Behavior in the Kinetics and Equilibrium of Solid-State Photoreaction”. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2021, 43, 101160.
- Ruobing Bai, Kaushik Bhattacharya, “Photomechanical Coupling in Photoactive Nematic Elastomers”. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 2020, 144, 104115.
- Jiawei Yang, Jason Steck, Ruobing Bai, Zhigang Suo, “Topological Adhesion II. Stretchable Adhesion”. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2020, 40, 100891.
- Baohong Chen, Jiawei Yang, Ruobing Bai, Zhigang Suo, “Molecular Staples for Tough and Stretchable Adhesion in Integrated Soft Materials”. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2019, 1900810.
- Jiawei Yang, Ruobing Bai, Jianyu Li, Canhui Yang, Xi Yao, Qihan Liu, Joost Vlassak, David J. Mooney, Zhigang Suo, “Design Molecular Topology for Wet-Dry Adhesion”. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2019, 11, 27, 24802-24811.
- Jiawei Yang, Ruobing Bai, Baohong Chen, Zhigang Suo, “Hydrogel Adhesion: A Supramolecular Synergy of Chemistry, Topology, and Mechanics”. Advanced Functional Materials, 2019, 1901693.
- Ruobing Bai, Jiawei Yang, Xavier P. Morelle, Zhigang Suo, “Flaw-Insensitive Hydrogels under Static and Cyclic Loads”. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 2019, 1800883.
- Ruobing Bai, Baohong Chen, Jiawei Yang, Zhigang Suo, “Tearing a Hydrogel of Complex Rheology”. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 2019, 125, 749-761.
- Ruobing Bai, Jiawei Yang, Zhigang Suo, “Fatigue of Hydrogels”. European Journal of Mechanics – A/Solids, 2019, 74, 337-370.
- Mo Sun, Ruobing Bai, Xingyun Yang, Jiaqi Song, Zhigang Suo, Ximin He, “Hydrogel Interferometry for Ultrasensitive and Highly Selective Chemical Detection”. Advanced Materials, 2018, 1804916.
- Xavier P. Morelle, Widusha R. Illeperuma, Kevin Tian, Ruobing Bai, Zhigang Suo, Joost Vlassak, “Highly Stretchable and Tough Hydrogels Below Water Freezing Temperature”. Advanced Materials, 2018, 1801541.
- Zhongtong Wang, Jingda Tang, Ruobing Bai, Wenlei Zhang, Tongda Lian, Tongqing Lu, Tiejun Wang, “A Phenomenological Model for Shakedown of Tough Hydrogels under Cyclic Loads”. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 2018, 85(9), 091005-091005-8.
- Jiawei Yang, Ruobing Bai, Zhigang Suo, “Topological Adhesion of Wet Materials”. Advanced Materials, 2018, 1800671.
- Enrui Zhang, Ruobing Bai, Xavier P. Morelle, Zhigang Suo, “Fatigue Fracture of Nearly Elastic Hydrogels”. Soft Matter, 2018, 14, 3563-3571.
- Meng Qin, Mo Sun, Ruobing Bai, Yiqi Mao, Xiaoshi Qian, Dipika Sikka, Yuan Zhao, Hang Jerry Qi, Zhigang Suo, Ximin He, “Bioinspired Hydrogel Interferometer for Adaptive Coloration and Chemical Sensing”. Advanced Materials, 2018, 1800468.
- Ruobing Bai, Jiawei Yang, Xavier P. Morelle, Canhui Yang, Zhigang Suo, “Fatigue Fracture of Self-Recovery Hydrogels”. ACS Macro Letters, 2018, 312-317.
- Xavier P. Morelle, Ruobing Bai, Zhigang Suo, “Localized Deformation in Plastic Liquids on Elastomers”. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 2017, 84 (10), 101002.
- Ruobing Bai, Quansan Yang, Jingda Tang, Xavier P. Morelle, Joost Vlassak, Zhigang Suo, “Fatigue Fracture of Tough Hydrogels”. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2017, 15, 91-96.
Jan 08, 2021
New Faculty Spotlight: Ruobing Bai
Ruobing Bai joins the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering department in January 2021 as an Assistant Professor.