Anon Photo

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.

Laboratory for Soft Machines & Electronics (SME Lab) 

www.CaoGroup.org

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

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

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.