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Welcome to this website at the Ohio State University! The research group is led by Dr. Nan Hu from the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering (CEGE). Considering structural design in a multidisciplinary setting, we are interested in the conceptual development and characterization of structural components using mechanical instabilities such as buckling to enable adaptive feature beyond their traditional roles of carrying loads. Guided by a combination of theoretical analysis, simulations, and experiments, we aim to integrate those developed structural concepts into the development of resilient materials, devices, and systems across a wide range of length scales.

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Updates & Milestones

01/01/20 Dr. Hu is moving back to China and VSL is set to relaunch in March at South China University of Technology. Thank you, OSU. Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye. Stay tuned: Scholar.

12/15/19: Yan and Brady graduated with their master’s degree! Congrats!

12/01/19: VSL published five papers recently on Nature Communication, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Smart Materials and Structures, and Advanced Engineering Materials.

08/21/19: VSL welcomes Ben, Connor, Kara, Raina, Ryan who will continue their efforts as undergraduate research assistants for 2019 autumn term!

06/03/19: We are launching our floating vessels today!

05/05/19: VSL congrats Amal on his completion of MS degree in Mechanical Engineering!

05/01/19: A multidisciplinary grant on bioplastic alternatives was funded by the OSU Center for Applied Plant Science (CAPS)

04/19/19: Dr. Hu was invited to present at STEAM Factory Exchange “Form and Shape”.

04/03/19: Liz won the highly competitive summer research scholarship from the College of Engineering!

03/20/19: Dr. Hu was invited to present at Drackett Tower for the undergraduate resident seminar.

03/05/19: Dr. Hu was selected as 2018 Outstanding Reviewer for ASC Journal of Bridge Engineering

03/04/19: Chunping received the travel award from CEG and presented our work at APS Annual Meeting in Boston.

03/01/19: Dr. Hu was invited to present at the CAPS Seminar.

01/25/19: VSL welcomes Connor, Kara, Kailey, Liz, Raina, Ryan who will work as undergraduate research assistants for 2019 spring term!

12/03/18: Dr. Hu organized the design exhibition as part of the teaching innovation of CIVILEN 3310 (structural engineering principles)

10/30/18: A project on sustainable building materials led by Dr. Hu was funded by the OSU Center for Applied Plant Science (CAPS)

10/18/18: A internal grant on civil engineering graduate student ethics leadership (Lead: Denver Tang) was awarded by the OSU Fisher Leadership Initiative (FLI).

09/06/18: VSL welcomes back Anthony from Cristo Rey High School for his work-study program! News

09/04/18: A internal grant on the Artificial Floating Island Test Garden (Lead: Jake Boswell) was awarded by the OSU Discovery Theme SRE. News

08/21/18: AU18 term is kicking off today. Dr. Hu will teach Structural Engineering Principles.

08/17/18: VSL welcomes Chunping working toward the Ph.D. degree in civil engineering and Brady, Yan working toward the master degree in civil engineering!

07/17/18: Dr. Hu joins the ASCE SEI Bioinspired Structures Committee.

05/27/18: Dr. Hu joins the ASCE EMI Stability Committee.

05/23/18: VSL welcomes Andrew, Grant, Ilana, Jiawei, Mary Grace and Michael who will work as undergraduate research assistants for 2018 summer term!

05/15/18: Our first conference paper is accepted to be orally presented at the IASS 2018 Symposium. Well done, team!

05/01/18: Dr. Hu will serve as a STEP Faculty Mentor at OSU for the 18/19 academic year.

04/18/18: A proposal in collaboration with Dr. Jake Boswell and Dr. Lisa Burris on the Artificial Floating Island Test Garden was awarded by the Ohio State Sustainability Fund.

03/27/18: Our very first abstract has been accepted for a regular oral presentation at the IUTAM Symposium on “Architectured Materials Mechanics”. Way to go, team!

03/23/18: Dr. Hu was selected as a fellow in the Ohio State Teaching Enhancement Programs (OSTEP) for the 18/19 academic year. News Coverage

03/01/18: Dr. Hu was invited to present his work on postbuckling of cylindrical shells at the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Smart Vehicle Concepts Center.

01/24/18: Dr. Hu submitted his very first NSF proposal to CMMI ECI Division. Finger crossed 🙂

01/09/18: VSL welcomes Anthony Ulloa from Cristo Rey High School in Columbus who will work as visiting research assistant!

01/06/18: VSL welcomes Burak and Megan who will work as undergraduate research assistants!

01/06/18: VSL welcomes Amal as our very first graduate student working toward the master degree in mechanical engineering!

12/28/17: Dr. Hu joins the STEAM Factory at OSU.

12/05/17: Dr. Hu completed his first course (CE/ME 5162 laminated composite) as the instructor after joining OSU.

11/21/17: Dr. Hu submits the very first internal grant proposal to BETHA.

09/25/17: Dr. Hu is given a Category P faculty status by the Graduate School and becomes eligible to advise master and doctoral students in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at OSU.

09/10/17: Dr. Hu was selected as a fellow to participate in the Faculty FIT program sponsored by UITL for the 17/18 academic year.

09/01/17: VSL launched the group website!
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