Prof. ZHU, Pingan

Assistant Professor

  • Ph.D., The University of Hong Kong, 2017
  • B.S., University of Science and Technology of China, 2013
Office
YEUNG-B6617
Phone
(+852) 3442-2316
Email
pingazhu@cityu.edu.hk
Web
https://pinganzhu.wixsite.com/mecityu
Research Interests
  • Microfluidics
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Surface Wettability
  • Micro/Nanorobots
  • Biomimetics
Links

CityU Scholar
Google Scholar
Lab Website

Current Position
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. 2020–present
Honors and Awards
  • Outstanding Reviewer for Lab on a Chip in 2023 (2024)
  • Associate Fellow of International Association of Advanced Materials, Sweden (2023)
  • Micromachines 2022 Young Investigator Award (2023)
  • Outstanding Reviewer for Lab on a Chip in 2022 (2023)
  • IAAM Young Scientist Medal, International Association of Advanced Materials, Sweden (2022)
  • Outstanding Achievement Award for China Rising Star in Science and Technology, China Association for Science and Technology and ScholarSet, China (2021)
  • Pursuit of Environmental Initiatives and Participation in the 2018 Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards, Environmental Campaign Committee, Hong Kong, China (2019)
  • Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Thesis Award, HKU (2018)
  • TechConnect Global Innovation Award, 2018 TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo, Anaheim, USA (2018)
  • Top 10 most downloaded articles published in Lab on a Chip in 2017 (2018)
  • HKIS-Towngas Young Scientist Award (honorable mention), Hong Kong Institute of Science, Hong Kong, China (2017)
  • Poster Prize, AMN/ISMM/APCBM/ANZNMF Conference, Tasmania, Australia (2017)
Editorship
  • Early Career Editorial Advisory Board Member of Biomicrofluidics, 2023–present
  • Youth Editor of Soft Science, 2022–present
  • Youth Editor of The Innovation, 2022–2024
  • Guest Editor of Micromachines, 2022–2023
Publications

(*Corresponding author; #Co-first author)

  1. Ying Zhou, Chenguang Zhang, Wenchang Zhao, Shiyu Wang & Pingan Zhu*. Suppression of hollow droplet rebound on super-repellent surfaces. Nature Communications 14, 5386 (2023). Editors’ Highlights in “Applied Physics and Mathematics” 
  2. Pingan Zhu* & Liqiu Wang*. Microfluidics-enabled soft manufacture of materials with tailorable wettability. Chemical Reviews 122, 7010-7060 (2022). Microfluidics Special Issue; Front Cover
  3. Chunmei Zhou, Pingan Zhu*, Ye Tian, Rui Shi & Liqiu Wang*. Progress in all-aqueous droplets generation with microfluidics: Mechanisms of formation and stability improvements. Biophysics Reviews 3, 021301 (2022). Featured Article; Highlighted by AIP Scilight
  4. Ying Zhou & Pingan Zhu*. A paradigm shift in liquid cooling by multitextured surface design. The Innovation 3, 100222 (2022). Invited Commentary
  5. Shile Feng#, Pingan Zhu#, Huanxi Zheng, Haiyang Zhan, Chen Chen, Jiaqian Li, Liqiu Wang, Xi Yao, Yahua Liu & Zuankai Wang. Three-dimensional capillary ratchet-induced liquid directional steering. Science 373, 1344-1348 (2021). ESI Highly Cited Paper
  6. Pingan Zhu, Rifei Chen, Chunmei Zhou, Michael Aizenberg, Joanna Aizenberg & Liqiu Wang. Bioinspired soft microactuators. Advanced Materials 33, 2008558 (2021).
  7. Pingan Zhu, Chengmin Chen, Krishnaswamy Nandakumar & Liqiu Wang. Nonspecular reflection of droplets. Small 17, 2006695 (2021). Inside Front Cover
  8. Xing Han, Xin Tang, Rifei Chen, Wei Li, Pingan Zhu* & Liqiu Wang*. Citrus-peel-like durable slippery surfaces. Chemical Engineering Journal 420, 129599 (2021).
  9. Chunmei Zhou, Pingan Zhu*, Xing Han, Rui Shi, Ye Tian & Liqiu Wang*. Microfluidic generation of ATPS droplets by transient double emulsion technique. Lab on a Chip 21, 2684-2690 (2021). Lab on a Chip HOT Articles 2021
  10. Pingan Zhu#, Yixin Wang#, Hin Chu & Liqiu Wang. Superhydrophobicity preventing surface contamination as a novel strategy against COVID-19. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 600, 613-619 (2021). 
  11. Pingan Zhu, Rifei Chen, Chunmei Zhou, Ye Tian & Liqiu Wang. Asymmetric fibers for efficient fog harvesting. Chemical Engineering Journal 415, 128944 (2021).
  12. Xing Han, Pingan Zhu*, Tiantian Kong & Liqiu Wang*. Microfluidic encapsulation of phase change materials for high thermal performance. Langmuir 36, 8165-8173 (2020).
  13. Pingan Zhu, Rifei Chen & Liqiu Wang. Topography-directed hot-water super-repellent surfaces. Advanced Science 6, 1900798 (2019).
  14. Chunmei Zhou#, Pingan Zhu#, Ye Tian, Min Xu & Liqiu Wang. Engineering micromotors with droplet microfluidics. ACS Nano 13, 6319-6329 (2019). 
  15. Pingan Zhu & Liqiu Wang. Droplet pinch-off with pressure fluctuations. Chemical Engineering Science 196, 333-343 (2019).
  16. Pingan Zhu, Tiantian Kong, Ye Tian, Xin Tang, Xiaowei Tian & Liqiu Wang. Superwettability with antithetic states: Fluid repellency in immiscible liquids. Materials Horizons 5, 1156-1165 (2018).
  17. Pingan Zhu, Tiantian Kong, Chunmei Zhou, Leyan Lei & Liqiu Wang. Engineering microstructure with evaporation-induced self-assembly of microdroplets. Small Methods 2, 1800017 (2018). 
  18. Pingan Zhu, Tiantian Kong, Xin Tang & Liqiu Wang. Well-defined porous membranes for robust omniphobic surfaces via microfluidic emulsion templating. Nature Communications 8, 15823 (2017).
  19. Chunmei Zhou#, Pingan Zhu#, Ye Tian, Xin Tang, Rui Shi & Liqiu Wang. Microfluidic generation of aqueous two-phase-system (ATPS) droplets by oil-droplet choppers. Lab on a Chip 17, 3310-3317 (2017). 
  20. Pingan Zhu & Liqiu Wang. Passive and active droplet generation with microfluidics: A review. Lab on a Chip 17, 34-75 (2017). ESI Highly Cited Paper; Lab on a Chip 2017 Most Downloaded Articles
  21. Pingan Zhu, Xin Tang & Liqiu Wang. Droplet generation in co-flow microfluidic channels with vibration. Microfluidics and Nanofluidics 20, 47 (2016). 
  22. Pingan Zhu, Tiantian Kong, Leyan Lei, Xiaowei Tian, Zhanxiao Kang & Liqiu Wang. Droplet breakup in expansion-contraction microchannels. Scientific Reports 6, 21527 (2016). 
  23. Pingan Zhu, Xin Tang, Ye Tian & Liqiu Wang. Pinch-off of microfluidic droplets with oscillatory velocity of inner phase flow. Scientific Reports 6, 31436 (2016). 
  24. Pingan Zhu, Tiantian Kong, Zhanxiao Kang, Xiaowei Tian & Liqiu Wang. Tip-multi-breaking in capillary microfluidic devices. Scientific Reports 5, 11102 (2015). 
Book Publications
  • Pingan Zhu & Liqiu Wang. Microfluidics-Enabled Soft Manufacture, ISBN 978-3-030-96461-0, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-96462-7. Springer Nature, Switzerland AG (2022).
Position Available

We are looking for highly motivated students to join us. If you are interested in my research, please send your CV and publications (if any) to me by email (pingazhu@cityu.edu.hk). Please note that only those who are shortlisted for an interview will be contacted. English proficiency requirement is TOEFL score of 79 or above, or IELTS score of 6.5 or above, or CET-6 score of 490 or above.