Changyong (Chase) Cao

, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Study the mechanics, designs, and manufacturing of smart multifunctional materials, soft robotics, soft electronics, and self-powered sensing systems.

Soft Machines & Electronics Lab

Office: 441 Glennan Building Email: ccao@case.edu Delivery Address: 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106.

Education

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Australian National University, 2014
M. S., Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 2010

Awards and Recognitions

2023, Veale Faculty Fellow, Case Western Reserve University
2023, Tanner Award for the most-cited paper, Journal of Food Science
2022, iCANX Young Scientist Award, iCANX
2022, CWRU Faculty Innovator (Discovery) Award, Case Western Reserve University

Research Interests

• Soft (active) Materials, Smart materials & structures, Metamaterials, Bioinspired materials, Multifunctional composites, Programmable materials;

• Soft robotics, Sensors & actuators, Biomedical devices, 3D & 4D printing of multifunctional materials and structures

• Printed/Flexible/Stretchable/Wearable/Bio-integrated electronics, Internet of Things (IoTs), Energy harvesting & storage devices (supercapacitors, batteries, triboelectric nanogenerators, and wave energy converters)

• Solid mechanics, Biomechanics, Computational mechanics

Teaching Interests

• EMAE 401 - Mechanics of Continuum Media;

• EMAE 450 - Advanced Engineering Analysis.

Professional Leadership and Service

Editorial Board Member, Soft Science
Associate Editor, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
Editorial Board Member, Micromachines
President, Electronic Materials Technical Committee, ASME Material Division
Associate Editor, Frontiers in Robotics and AI
Editorial Board Member, Advanced Electronic Materials (Wiley)
Associate Editor, Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering

Recent Publications:

  • X. Xu, Q. Wu, Y. Pang, Y. Cao, Y. Fang, G. Huang*, C. Cao*. Multifunctional Metamaterials for Energy Harvesting and Vibration Control. Advanced Functional Materials, 2107896, 2021.
  • X. Liu, M. Song, Y. Fang, Y. Zhao* and C. Cao*. Worm-inspired Soft Robots Enable Adaptive Pipeline and Tunnel Inspection. Advanced Intelligent Systems, 2100128, 2021. 
  • Y. Pang, Y. Cao, M. Derakhshani, Y. Fang, Z.L. Wang, C. Cao*. Hybrid Energy Harvesting Systems Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators. Matter, 4(1), 116-143, 2021. 
  • S. Chen, Y. Pang, Y. Cao, X. Tan, C. Cao*.  Soft Robotic Manipulation System Capable of Stiffness Variation and Dexterous Operation for Safe Human-Machine Interactions. Advanced Materials Technologies, 2100084, 2021. 
  • Y. Cao, M. Derakhshani, Y. Fang, G. Huang, C. Cao*. Bistable Structures for Advanced Functional Systems. Advanced Functional Materials, 2106231, 2021.
  •  L. Li, J. Zhang, X. Wang, L. Huang, J. Zhang, C. Redshaw, X. Feng*, C. Cao*, N. Huo, J. Li, B. Z. Tang*. Stimuli-responsive Materials from Ferrocene-based Organic Small Molecule for Wearable Sensors. Small, 2103125, 2021. 
  • Y. Zhou, C. B. Parker, P. Joshi, A. K. Naskar, J. T. Glass, C. Cao*. 4D Printing of Stretchable Supercapacitors via Hybrid Composite Materials. Advanced Materials Technologies, 202001055, 2020. 
  • H. Yin, Y. Cao, B. Marelli, X. Zeng, A. Mason, C. Cao*. Soil Sensors and Plant Wearables for Smart and Precision Agriculture. Advanced Materials, 2007764, 2020. 
  • Y. Pang, S. Chen, J. An, K. Wang, Y. Deng, A. Benard, N. Lajnef, C. Cao*. Multilayered Cylindrical Triboelectric Nanogenerators to Harvest Kinetic Energy of Tree Branches for Monitoring Environment Condition and Forest Firesystem. Advanced Functional Materials, 2003598, 2020. 
  • X. Liu, Y. Zhao, S. Chen, X. Tan, C. Cao*. Soft Humanoid Hands with Large Grasping Force Enabled by Flexible Hybrid Pneumatic Actuators, Soft Robotics, 8(2), 175-185, 2020. 
  • S. Chen, Y. Pang, H. Yuan, X. Tan, C. Cao*. Smart Soft Actuators and Grippers Enabled by Self-Powered Tribo-Skins. Advanced Materials Technologies, 1901075, 2020. 
  • Y. Zhou, C. Cao*, Y. Cao, Q. Han, C. Parker, J. T. Glass*. Robust and High-Performance Electrodes Made by Crumpled Au-CNT Forests for Stretchable Supercapacitors, Matter, 2, 1–17, 2020. 
  • Y. Liu, S. Chen, X. Tan, C. Cao*. A Finite Element Framework for Magneto-Actuated Large Deformation and Instability of Slender Magneto-Active Elastomers, International Journal of Applied Mechanics, 12, 1, 2020.
  • Y. Zhou, K. Maleski, B. Anasori, J. Thostenson, Y. Pang, Y. Feng, C. Parker, S. Zauscher, Y. Gogotsi, J. Glass*, C. Cao*. Ti3C2Tx MXene-Reduced Graphene Oxide Composite Electrodes for Stretchable Supercapacitors, ACS Nano, 14 (3), 3576-3586, 2020. 
  • Y. Zhao, X. Liu*, Y. Fang, C. Cao*. Ultra-Precision Processing of Conductive Materials via Electrorheological Fluid-Assisted Polishing. Advanced Engineering Materials, 202001109, 2020.
  • Y. Pang, Y. Cao, Y. Chu, M. Liu, K. Snyder, D. MacKenzie, C. Cao*. Additive Manufacturing of Batteries, Advanced Functional Materials. 1906244, 2019.
  • C. Cao*, Y. Zhou, S. Ubnoske, J. Zang, Y. Cao, P. Henry, C. Parker, J. T. Glass*. Highly Stretchable Supercapacitors via Crumpled Vertically Aligned Canbon Nanotube-Forests, Advanced Energy Materials, 1900618, 2019. 
  • Y. Liu, Y. Cao, X.-Q. Feng, C. Cao*. Phase Transition and Optimal Actuation of Active Bilayer Structures, Extreme Mechanics Letters, 29, 100467, 2019
  • Y. Cao, Y. Feng, M. D. Ryser, K. Zhu, G. Herschlag, C. Cao, K. Marusak, S. Zauscher, L. You*. Programmed assembly of pressure sensors using pattern-forming bacteria, Nature Biotechnology, 35, 1087–1093, 2017.