Rate My Professor Yuxiang Liu

Yuxiang Liu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, with courtesy appointments in Physics, Biomedical Engineering, and Robotics Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2011, an M.S. from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2005, and a B.S. from the same institution in 2002. Joining Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2013, Liu directs the WPI Optomechanics Lab, where his research delves into light-matter interactions at the microscale and nanoscale. His primary research interests encompass optical trapping, optofluidics, nanophotonics, cavity optomechanics, and fiber optic sensing systems, with a focus on optical actuation, damping, and sensing of mechanics in micro-/nano-scale structures and biological specimens. Applications of his work include on-chip disease diagnosis, in vivo disease treatments, motion detection in consumer electronics, health monitoring, and biomechanics.

Liu's scholarly output has appeared in high-impact journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Physical Review Letters, Optics Letters, and Optics Express. Notable publications include 'Electromagnetically induced transparency and wideband wavelength conversion in silicon nitride microdisk optomechanical resonators' (Physical Review Letters, 2013), 'Tapered optical fiber loops and helices for integrated photonic device characterization and microfluidic roller coasters' (Optica, 2016), 'Reliable and mobile all-fiber modular optical tweezers' (Scientific Reports, 2020), 'Highly accessible low-loss fiber tapering by the ceramic housed electric furnace (CHEF) and frequency-domain real-time monitoring' (Review of Scientific Instruments, 2021), and 'Batch fabrication of electrochemical sensors on a glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate-based microfluidic device' (Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2020). He has received awards including the Future Faculty Program Fellowship (2007), Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship (2009), NIST-ARRA Fellow (2011), and Mass-Ventures Acorn Innovation Grant (2021). Liu holds a patent for the Acrylic-tape Hybrid Microfluidic Platform and is a member of OSA, SPIE, and ASME.