Acoustic metamaterials are artificially designed structured ‘atoms’. Initially, scientists discovered that these meta-atoms can exhibit extraordinary properties beyond those found in natural materials, such as negative density and negative modulus, through localized resonance, which sparked significant interest in the academic community. Subsequently, it was confirmed that these unique narrow-band frequency responses can be extended to broadband impedance designs, leading directly to the emergence of absorption metamaterials and opening up large-scale applications in noise reduction. In recent years, the potential of customizable metamaterials has gradually been realized. We will present our latest works from two complementary perspectives: customized frequencies and spatial non-uniformity, which may open up new applications such as directional emission, stealth cloaking and automotive acoustics.
Dr Sichao Qu received his B.S. from Nanjing University and his PhD in Physics (with Redbird honor) from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST advisor: Professor Ping Sheng). After a short postdoctoral research position at HKUST, he is currently conducting postdoctoral research at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Jockey-Club STEM Lab at the University of Hong Kong with Professor Nicholas Fang. Dr Qu’s research focuses on the physical mechanisms and the applications of customizable metamaterials, with his related papers published in academic journals (e.g. PNAS, Science Advances and PRApplied etc.).
Clean water and clean air are vital for public health. This project focuses on developing high-efficiency and environmentally sustainable filters for removing harmful air/water pollutants. The team has developed novel architectures and functionalities for the filters to achieve high permeance, high removal efficiency, and excellent reusability.
