The group expertise lies at the multi-disciplinary intersection joining mechanics of materials, computational methods, acoustics and vibrations. Our studies focus on the design of artificially structured materials for wave manipulation. These functional composites are commonly referred to as phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials – systems with unconventional dynamic properties emerging from their micro-structures instead of their constituent materials. A central theme in this field is the emergence of acoustic/phononic band gaps – a range of frequency in which the propagation of elastic wave is suppressed. While functional materials with acoustic band gaps can directly help with the manipulation of energy, signal and noise, they can also greatly expand the design space for acoustic imaging and therapy devices. For example, many exotic properties, such as negative refraction, negative dynamic mass/moduli and sub-wavelength focusing and collimation, are related to and often accompanied by the creation of band gaps.
Our mission is to take on the following grand challenges:
(I) Control mechanical vibrations for high-efficiency energy production, transmission and consumption;
(II) Improve the precision of acoustic diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus for accurate and cost-effective medical instrument in healthcare;
(III) Build phonon computing systems and nonlinear acoustic signal processing devices for a new regime in information technology; and
(IV) Mitigate the detrimental effects of ambient noise and structural vibrations in urban living environment.
