headshot of Qihan Liu

Qihan Liu

Assistant Professor
qihan.liu@pitt.edu
(412) 624-9737
Lab Homepage Google Scholar Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

overview

Dr. Liu received his BS from the University of Science and Technology of China (Special Class for Gifted Young) in 2010 and his PhD from Harvard University in Materials Sciences and Mechanical Engineering in 2016. Since completing his PhD, Dr. Liu has worked at Harvard as a postdoctoral fellow in the Bioengineering Department studying the manufacturing of 3D nanofibrous scaffold for regenerative heart valves. Dr. Liu's research engages in multiple aspects of the mechanics and the manufacturing of soft materials to explore the possibilities that soft materials can offer to various engineering applications.

about

PhD, Engineering Science, Harvard University, 2010 - 2016

BS, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, 2006 - 2010

Liu, Q., & Shankar, M.R. (2025). Elastocapillary deformation prevents interfacial water trapping in underwater contact. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 77, 102326.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2025.102326.

Rouhani, F., Pazin, J.W., Young, B.A., Liu, Q., & Velankar, S.S. (2024). Inelastic effects in bulge formation of inflated polymer tubes. Soft Matter, 20(20), 4152-4164.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d4sm00241e.

Wang, L., & Liu, Q. (2024). Deformation-dependent gel surface topography due to the elastocapillary and osmocapillary effects. Soft Matter, 20(17), 3676-3684.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d4sm00139g.

Shao, Z., & Liu, Q. (2023). Osmocapillary adhesion: Reversible and strong adhesion between any hydrogel. EXTREME MECHANICS LETTERS, 61, 101996.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2023.101996.

Shao, Z., & Liu, Q. (2023). Independent characterization of the elastic and the mixing parts of hydrogel osmotic pressure. EXTREME MECHANICS LETTERS, 64, 102085.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2023.102085.

Zhu, J., & Liu, Q. (2023). The osmocapillary effect on a rough gel surface. JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICS AND PHYSICS OF SOLIDS, 170, 105124.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jmps.2022.105124.

Zhu, J., & Liu, Q. (2023). The osmocapillary effect on a rough gel surface. JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICS AND PHYSICS OF SOLIDS, 170, 105124.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jmps.2022.105124.

Zhu, J., Yang, C., & Liu, Q. (2023). Experimental characterization of elastocapillary and osmocapillary effects on multi-scale gel surface topography. Soft Matter, 19(45), 8698-8705.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d3sm01147j.

Chang, H., Liu, Q., Zimmerman, J.F., Lee, K.Y., Jin, Q., Peters, M.M., Rosnach, M., Choi, S., Kim, S.L., Ardoña, H.A.M., MacQueen, L.A., Chantre, C.O., Motta, S.E., Cordoves, E.M., & Parker, K.K. (2022). Recreating the heart's helical structure-function relationship with focused rotary jet spinning. Science, 377(6602), 180-185.American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). doi: 10.1126/science.abl6395.

Guan, X., Reddipalli, L., Butler, D.T., Liu, Q., & Velankar, S.S. (2022). Rate-dependent creasing of a viscoelastic liquid. EXTREME MECHANICS LETTERS, 55, 101784.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2022.101784.

Breid, D., Lai, V., Flowers, A.T., Guan, X., Liu, Q., & Velankar, S.S. (2021). Drop Spreading and Confinement in Swelling-Driven Folding of Thin Films. Langmuir, 37(23), 6985-6994.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00520.

Cera, L., Gonzalez, G.M., Liu, Q., Choi, S., Chantre, C.O., Lee, J., Gabardi, R., Choi, M.C., Shin, K., & Parker, K.K. (2021). A bioinspired and hierarchically structured shape-memory material. Nat Mater, 20(2), 242-249.Springer Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41563-020-0789-2.

Chang, H., Liu, Q., Zimmerman, J.F., Lee, K.Y., Jin, Q., Peters, M.M., Rosnach, M., Choi, S., Kim, S.L., Ardoña, H.A.M., MacQueen, L.A., Chantre, C.O., Motta, S.E., Cordoves, E.M., & Parker, K.K. (2021). Structure-Function in Helical Cardiac Musculature Using Additive Textile Manufacturing. 2021.08.18.456852.Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. doi: 10.1101/2021.08.18.456852.

Li, Q., Wang, L., Liu, Q., Hong, W., & Yang, C. (2021). Fatigue Damage-Resistant Physical Hydrogel Adhesion. Front Robot AI, 8, 666343.Frontiers. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2021.666343.

Pope, B.D., Warren, C.R., Dahl, M.O., Pizza, C.V., Henze, D.E., Sinatra, N.R., Gonzalez, G.M., Chang, H., Liu, Q., Glieberman, A.L., Ferrier, J.P., Cowan, C.A., & Parker, K.K. (2020). Fattening chips: hypertrophy, feeding, and fasting of human white adipocytes in vitro. Lab Chip, 20(22), 4152-4165.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d0lc00508h.

Yang, C., Cheng, S., Yao, X., Nian, G., Liu, Q., & Suo, Z. (2020). Ionotronic Luminescent Fibers, Fabrics, and Other Configurations. Adv Mater, 32(47), e2005545.Wiley. doi: 10.1002/adma.202005545.

Glieberman, A.L., Pope, B.D., Zimmerman, J.F., Liu, Q., Ferrier, J.P., Kenty, J.H.R., Schrell, A.M., Mukhitov, N., Shores, K.L., Tepole, A.B., Melton, D.A., Roper, M.G., & Parker, K.K. (2019). Synchronized stimulation and continuous insulin sensing in a microfluidic human Islet on a Chip designed for scalable manufacturing. Lab Chip, 19(18), 2993-3010.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/c9lc00253g.

Liu, Q., Ouchi, T., Jin, L., Hayward, R., & Suo, Z. (2019). Elastocapillary Crease. Phys Rev Lett, 122(9), 098003.American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.098003.

Wang, Y., Liu, Q., Zhang, J., Hong, T., Sun, W., Tang, L., Arnold, E., Suo, Z., Hong, W., Ren, Z., & Guo, C.F. (2019). Giant Poisson's Effect for Wrinkle-Free Stretchable Transparent Electrodes. Adv Mater, 31(35), e1902955.Wiley. doi: 10.1002/adma.201902955.

Yang, J., Bai, R., Li, J., Yang, C., Yao, X., Liu, Q., Vlassak, J.J., Mooney, D.J., & Suo, Z. (2019). Design Molecular Topology for Wet-Dry Adhesion. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 11(27), 24802-24811.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b07522.

Ahn, S., Ardoña, H.A.M., Lind, J.U., Eweje, F., Kim, S.L., Gonzalez, G.M., Liu, Q., Zimmerman, J.F., Pyrgiotakis, G., Zhang, Z., Beltran-Huarac, J., Carpinone, P., Moudgil, B.M., Demokritou, P., & Parker, K.K. (2018). Mussel-inspired 3D fiber scaffolds for heart-on-a-chip toxicity studies of engineered nanomaterials. Anal Bioanal Chem, 410(24), 6141-6154.Springer Nature. doi: 10.1007/s00216-018-1106-7.

Brassart, L., Liu, Q., & Suo, Z. (2018). Mixing by shear, dilation, swap, and diffusion. JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICS AND PHYSICS OF SOLIDS, 112, 253-272.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jmps.2017.12.008.

Liu, Q., & Parker, K.K. (2018). A viscoelastic beam theory of polymer jets with application to rotary jet spinning. EXTREME MECHANICS LETTERS, 25, 37-44.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2018.10.005.

Liu, Q., Nian, G., Yang, C., Qu, S., & Suo, Z. (2018). Bonding dissimilar polymer networks in various manufacturing processes. Nat Commun, 9(1), 846.Springer Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03269-x.

Pasqualini, F.S., Agarwal, A., O'Connor, B.B., Liu, Q., Sheehy, S.P., & Parker, K.K. (2018). Traction force microscopy of engineered cardiac tissues. In Leipzig, N.D. (Ed.). PLoS One, 13(3), e0194706.Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194706.

Ju, J., Yao, X., Hou, X., Liu, Q., Zhang, Y.S., & Khademhosseini, A. (2017). A Highly Stretchable and Robust Non-fluorinated Superhydrophobic Surface. J Mater Chem A Mater, 5(31), 16273-16280.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/C6TA11133E.

Le Floch, P., Yao, X., Liu, Q., Wang, Z., Nian, G., Sun, Y., Jia, L., & Suo, Z. (2017). Wearable and Washable Conductors for Active Textiles. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 9(30), 25542-25552.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b07361.

Wang, Z., Chen, C., Liu, Q., Lou, Y., & Suo, Z. (2017). Extrusion, slide, and rupture of an elastomeric seal. JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICS AND PHYSICS OF SOLIDS, 99, 289-303.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jmps.2016.12.007.

Brassart, L., Liu, Q., & Suo, Z. (2016). Shear, dilation, and swap: Mixing in the limit of fast diffusion. JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICS AND PHYSICS OF SOLIDS, 96, 48-64.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jmps.2016.06.013.

Jones, E.C., Liu, Q., Suo, Z., & Nocera, D.G. (2016). Mechanistic Study for Facile Electrochemical Patterning of Surfaces with Metal Oxides. ACS Nano, 10(5), 5321-5325.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acsnano.6b01335.

Lee, S., Reuveny, A., Reeder, J.Lee, S., Jin, H., Liu, Q., Yokota, T., Sekitani, T., Isoyama, T., Abe, Y., Suo, Z., & Someya, T. (2016). A transparent bending-insensitive pressure sensor. Nat Nanotechnol, 11(5), 472-478.Springer Nature. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2015.324.

Liu, Q., & Suo, Z. (2016). Osmocapillary phase separation. EXTREME MECHANICS LETTERS, 7, 27-33.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2016.02.001.

Xu, B.B., Liu, Q., Suo, Z., & Hayward, R.C. (2016). Reversible Electrochemically Triggered Delamination Blistering of Hydrogel Films on Micropatterned Electrodes. ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, 26(19), 3218-3225.Wiley. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201504769.

Guo, C.F., Liu, Q., Wang, G., Wang, Y., Shi, Z., Suo, Z., Chu, C.W., & Ren, Z. (2015). Fatigue-free, superstretchable, transparent, and biocompatible metal electrodes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 112(40), 12332-12337.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1516873112.

Liu, Q., Huang, S., & Suo, Z. (2015). Brownian Motion of Molecular Probes in Supercooled Liquids. Phys Rev Lett, 114(22), 224301.American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.224301.

Minev, I.R., Musienko, P., Hirsch, A., Barraud, Q., Wenger, N., Moraud, E.M., Gandar, J., Capogrosso, M., Milekovic, T., Asboth, L., Torres, R.F., Vachicouras, N., Liu, Q., Pavlova, N., Duis, S., Larmagnac, A., Vörös, J., Micera, S., Suo, Z., Courtine, G., & Lacour, S.P. (2015). Biomaterials. Electronic dura mater for long-term multimodal neural interfaces. Science, 347(6218), 159-163.American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). doi: 10.1126/science.1260318.

Wang, Z., Liu, Q., Lou, Y., Jin, H., & Suo, Z. (2015). Elastic Leak for a Better Seal. JOURNAL OF APPLIED MECHANICS-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME, 82(8), 081010.ASME International. doi: 10.1115/1.4030660.

Guo, C.F., Sun, T., Liu, Q., Suo, Z., & Ren, Z. (2014). Highly stretchable and transparent nanomesh electrodes made by grain boundary lithography. Nat Commun, 5(1), 3121.Springer Nature. doi: 10.1038/ncomms4121.

Li, J., Liu, Q., Brassart, L., & Suo, Z. (2014). Mechanics of Supercooled Liquids. JOURNAL OF APPLIED MECHANICS-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME, 81(11), 111007.ASME International. doi: 10.1115/1.4028587.

Liu, Q., Wang, Z., Lou, Y., & Suo, Z. (2014). Elastic leak of a seal. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 1, 54-61.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2014.10.001.

Robinson, A., Aziz, A., Liu, Q., Suo, Z., & Lacour, S.P. (2014). Hybrid stretchable circuits on silicone substrate. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 115(14), 143511.AIP Publishing. doi: 10.1063/1.4871279.

Liu, Q., Robisson, A., Lou, Y., & Suo, Z. (2013). Kinetics of swelling under constraint. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 114(6), 064901.AIP Publishing. doi: 10.1063/1.4816337.

Romeo, A., Liu, Q., Suo, Z., & Lacour, S.P. (2013). Elastomeric substrates with embedded stiff platforms for stretchable electronics. APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS, 102(13), 131904.AIP Publishing. doi: 10.1063/1.4799653.

Vandeparre, H., Liu, Q., Minev, I.R., Suo, Z., & Lacour, S.P. (2013). Localization of folds and cracks in thin metal films coated on flexible elastomer foams. Adv Mater, 25(22), 3117-3121.Wiley. doi: 10.1002/adma.201300587.

Zarzar, L.D., Liu, Q., He, X., Hu, Y., Suo, Z., & Aizenberg, J. (2012). Multifunctional actuation systems responding to chemical gradients. SOFT MATTER, 8(32), 8289-8293.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/c2sm26064f.

Ni, Y., He, L., & Liu, Q. (2011). Modeling kinetics of diffusion-controlled surface wrinkles. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys, 84(5 Pt 1), 051604.American Physical Society (APS). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.84.051604.

Research interests

Additive Manufacture of Soft...
Functional Soft Devices
Mechanics of Soft Materials