Prof. Weinan Xu

 
Dr. Weinan Xu joined the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering at the University of Akron as an Assistant Professor in 2019. He received his bachelor's degree in Polymer Materials and Engineering from Donghua University in 2011, and his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2015. His graduate research focused on stimuli- responsive polymers with branched architectures and their controlled assembly. He then conducted postdoctoral research (2016-2019) in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. His postdoctoral research focused on the creation of atomically thin 3D micro/nanostructures from 2D layered materials for biomedical applications.

The current research in Dr. Xu’s group at the University of Akron focuses on the development of advanced hybrid materials and new 3D fabrication technologies across a wide range of length scales. He has over 30 publications in journals such as Science Advances, Nano Letters, and Angewandte Chemie, with over 1500 citations. Dr. Xu has been recognized with several awards, including Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Award from the American Chemical Society, Best Ph.D. Thesis Award from Sigma Xi and Georgia Tech, 2021 IUPAC Young Observer Award, and the 2022 PPS Early Career Award