Our Team
Meet Our Team
Xinyi Ding
G1 PhD Student
Georgia Tech MSE
Education
Fudan University, B.S. in Materials Physics, 2024
In her prior research, Xinyi first focused on sonopiezoelectric nano-therapy for effective tumor eradication in Prof. Meiqi Chang’s lab. Then, she studied the synthesis and application of dual-functional ionogels possessing both ionic thermoelectric and piezoelectric properties under Prof. Ziqi Liang's guidance. Currently, Xinyi is a Ph.D. student in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech. In Prof. Shucong Li's Lab, her research focuses on the design and fabrication of bio-inspired liquid crystal assemblies through advanced manufacturing techniques, ultimately developing soft materials with environmentally adaptive dynamic reconfigurations.
Haodong Hu
G1 PhD Student
Georgia Tech MSE
Education
University of Science and Technology of China, M.S. in Chemistry, 2025
Haodong has developed strong interests and motivation in studying polymer materials science since his undergraduate study. After entering USTC, he joined in Prof. Quan Chen’s lab, and his research focused on the elasticity and swelling behaviour of hydrogels based on tetra-armed prepolymers. Haodong has done several poster presentations in international symposiums, and his work has been widely recognized by many excellent researchers. Haodong is currently a Ph.D. student in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech. His research in the Li lab will focus on smart materials including liquid crystalline elastomers and hydrogels.
Tushar Narayan Singh
MS Student
MSc Biomedical Engineering at University of Groningen (RUG), AE & MSE Intern Student at Georgia Tech
Education
University of Groningen, M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, 2025
Tushar completed a Bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Groningen, with a minor in Biomaterials Science and Engineering. For his Bachelor’s thesis, he worked in the Lerch Lab under the supervision of Dr. Michael Lerch and Foteini Trigka (Ph.D. student), focusing on the digital twinning of liquid crystalline network (LCN) soft robots. This research incorporated computer vision methods to support the development of a predictive model through machine learning, using data from fabricated LCN thin films. In 2023, Tushar began his Master's in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Groningen, while also participating in the High Technology Systems and Materials (HTSM) Honours Programme. For his Master's thesis, he is currently conducting research at Georgia Tech under the guidance of Dr. Shucong Li and Dr. Bolei Deng. His work focuses on macro-to-micro control strategies for liquid crystalline elastomeric (LCE) soft robots. This project features a finite element modelling approach to capture the dynamic behaviours of light-activated LCE structures, serving as a tool to support inverse design workflows.
Maria Giannakoudi
MS Student
Exchange student at MIT, MechE
Education
Imperial College London / Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Exchange), MEng in Materials Science and Engineering, 2025
At Imperial College, Maria worked with Dr. Iain Dunlop to develop a model hydrogel system for reconstructing soft tissues under dynamic tensile loads. During her time at MIT, she completed her master’s thesis as part of the water harvesting team in Professor Xuanhe Zhao’s research lab, and in collaboration with Professor Florian Bouville from Imperial College. Her thesis centered on developing an aero-hydrogel for sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting to address water scarcity in arid regions. This work focused on creating a device with fast sorption kinetics, long-term cycling stability, and scalable fabrication, aiming to bridge the gap between fundamental atmospheric water harvesting research and practical, large-scale applications.
Gabriella Carreira
Undergrad Student
Georgia Tech MSE
Education
B.E. in Materials Science and Engineering with Biomaterials Concentration, 2028
Gabi is an undergraduate researcher and a Stamps Presidents Scholar working on the development of oxygen permeable hydrogels for biomedical applications including as wearable health monitors and artificial tissue. Her career interests include bioinspired and green engineering.
Yihui Ou
Undergrad Intern Student
Georgia Tech MSE
Education
Fuzhou University, B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering, 2026
Yihui is an undergraduate student in Chemical Engineering at Fuzhou University. He previously conducted research under the supervision of Prof. Chenguang Liu, where he worked on green organic synthesis and flow chemistry, contributing to several peer-reviewed publications. He also gained experience in electrocatalysis under Prof. Yu Luo and Prof. Huihuang Fang. He is currently an undergraduate intern in Prof. Li’s group at Georgia Tech, focusing on the development of light-activated liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs). Outside the lab, he enjoys playing badminton and table tennis.
Christian Kim
1st year Undergrad Student
Georgia Tech MSE
Education
B.E. in Materials Science and Engineering with Biomaterials Concentration, 2029
Inspired by the principle of biomimicry, Christian is investigating the development and testing of liquid crystal elastomer composites through 3D printing techniques. This work aims to advance research on artificial muscles and other biomaterial systems.