IAS / School of Engineering Joint Lecture - Discovering Magnetoelasticity in Soft Matter for Bioelectronics

Abstract

The magnetoelastic effect—also known as the Villari effect—was first discovered in 1865 by Italian experimental physicist Emilio Villari. It describes how a material’s magnetic field changes in response to mechanical stress. Traditionally observed in rigid metals and metal alloys with external magnetic fields, it has been largely overlooked in soft bioelectronics due to limited magnetization under physiological stress, structural complexity, and extreme modulus mismatch with human tissues. In 2021, the speaker and his research team reported the discovery of a giant magnetoelastic effect in a soft polymer system, and subsequently in a liquid permanent fluidic magnet. This breakthrough opens a fundamentally new pathway for developing intrinsically waterproof and biocompatible soft bioelectronics for diagnostics, therapeutics, and energy applications. The speaker and his team are pioneering the use of this effect to advance personalized healthcare and sustainable energy solutions.


About the speaker

Prof. CHEN Jun, from the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is an elected Fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). With a current h-index of 135, Prof. Chen was identified to be one of the world’s most influential researchers in the field of Materials Science on the Web of Science. He is also the No. 1 most-cited researcher globally in bioelectronics (based on Google Scholar). His research focuses on soft matter innovation for healthcare and energy. He has published two books and 400 journal articles, with 300 of them being corresponding authors in Nature Review Bioengineering (3), Nature Materials (3), Nature Electronics (10), Nature Biotechnology (2), Nature Chemical Engineering (2), Nature Nanotechnology (1), Nature Sensors (2), Nature Cardiovascular Research (1), Nature Biomedical Engineering (1), Nature Communications (10), Science Advances (6), Chemical Reviews (2), Chemical Society Reviews (2), among others. Among his many accolades are the V. M. Watanabe Excellence in Research Award (1 faculty per year in UCLA Samueli School of Engineering), ACS Nano Lectureship, MRS Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award, Hisako Terasaki Young Innovator Award, Stephanie L Kwolek Prize, Shu Chien Early Career Award, Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering (AAASE) Rising Star Award, ASME Rising Star of Mechanical Engineering, BMES CMBE Rising Star Award, UCLA Faculty Mentor Award, UCLA Society of Hellman Fellows Award, Georgia Tech Alumni 40 Under 40, ONR Young Investigator Award, AHA Innovative Project Award, AHA Transformational Project Award, AHA's Second Century Early Faculty Independence Award, NIH UCLA CTSI KL2 Translational Science Award, BBRF Young Investigator Award, Okawa Foundation Research Award, Advanced Materials Rising Star, Materials Today Rising Star Award, Chem. Soc. Rev. Emerging Investigator Award, Nano Research Young Innovator Award, ACS PMSE Young Investigator Award, among others.

Beyond the research activities, Prof. Chen serves as the Executive Editor-in-Chief of Med-X, a section editor for Biosensors and Bioelectronics, and associate editors for VIEW Medicine, Soft Science, MRS Communications, FlexMat, Iontronics, cMat, and Textiles. Additionally, he is a member of the advisory and editorial boards of over 20 journals, including Matter, Materials Today, Materials Today Energy, Nano-Mirco Letters, Cell Reports Physical Science, The Innovation, Nano Trends, Biomedical Technology, among others.


For Attendees' Attention

Seating is on a first come, first served basis.