​Selected Publications

2024:​

• Symmetry Breaking of Self-Propelled Topological Defects in Thin-film Active Chiral Nematics

Weiqiang Wang, Haijie Ren and Rui Zhang#

Physical Review Letters 132, 038301 (2024).​

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• Chiral Active Particles are Sensitive Reporters to Environmental Geometry

Chung Wing Chan*, Daihui Wu*, Kaiyao Qiao, Kin Long Fong, Zhiyu Yang, Yilong Han and Rui Zhang#

Nature Communications 15, 1406 (2024), arXiv. Featured in “Applied physics and mathematics” by Nature Communications.

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• Moiré Effect Enables Versatile Design of Topological Defects in Nematic Liquid Crystals

Xinyu Wang*, Jinghua Jiang*, Juan Chen*, Asilehan Zhawure, Wentao Tang, Chenhui Peng# and Rui Zhang#

Nature Communications 15, 1655 (2024).

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• Flow-Induced Periodic Chiral Structures in an Achiral Nematic Liquid Crystal

Qing Zhang*#, Weiqiang Wang*, Shuang Zhou, Rui Zhang# and Irmgard Bischofberger#

Nature Communications 15, 7 (2024). Reported by MIT News, and featured in “Applied physics and mathematics” by Nature Communications.

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• Machine Eye for Defects: Machine Learning-Based Solution to Identify and Characterize Topological Defects in Textured Images of Nematic Materials

Haijie Ren, Weiqiang Wang, Wentao Tang and Rui Zhang#

Phys. Rev. Research 6, 013259 (2024), arXiv.

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2023:​

• Structures, Thermodynamics and Dynamics of Topological Defects in Gay-Berne Nematic Liquid Crystals

Yulu Huang, Weiqiang Wang, Jonathan K. Whitmer and Rui Zhang#

Soft Matter 19, 483-496 (2023).​ Featured in collection "Soft Matter Emerging Investigators Series"

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• Collective Transport and Reconfigurable Assembly of Nematic Colloids by Light-Driven Cooperative Molecular Reorientations

Jinghua Jiang*, Xinyu Wang*, Oluwafemi Issac Akomolafe*, Wentao Tang, Asilehan Zhawure, 

Kamal Ranabhat, Rui Zhang# and Chenhui Peng#

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 120 (16) e2221718120 (2023).​

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• Autonomous Waves and Global Motion Modes in Elastic Active Solids

Haoran Xu, Yulu Huang, Rui Zhang and Yilin Wu

Nature Physics 19, 46-51 (2023). Reported in Nature News & Views.

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• Dendritic Patterns From Shear-Enhanced Anisotropy in Nematic Liquid Crystals

Qing Zhang, Shuang Zhou, Rui Zhang and Irmgard Bischofberger

Science Advances 9, eabq6820 (2023).

 

2022:

• Active Transformations of Topological Structures in Light-Driven Nematic Disclination Networks

Jinghua Jiang*, Kamal Ranabhat*, Xinyu Wang*, Hailey Rich, Rui Zhang# and Chenhui Peng#

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 119 (23) e2122226119 (2022).

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• Logic Operations with Active Topological Defects

Rui Zhang#, Ali Mozaffari and Juan J. de Pablo#

Science Advances 8, eabg9060 (2022). Reported in Croucher, UChicago News, EurekAlert, Deeptech(cn), iScientist(cn).

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• Topological Defect-Mediated Morphodynamics of Active-Active Interfaces

De-Qing Zhang, Peng-Cheng Chen, Zhong-Yi Li, Rui Zhang and Bo Li

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 119 (50) e2122494119 (2022).

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• Capillary Flow Characterizations of Chiral Nematic Cellulose Nanocrystal Suspensions

Mohsen Esmaeili, Kyle George, Gelareh Rezvan, Nader Taheri-Qazvini, Rui Zhang# and Monirosadat Sadati#

Langmuir 38 (7) 2192–2204 (2022). Featured in Cover.

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• The Fate of Liquid Crystal Topological Defects on Chemically Patterned Surfaces during Phase Transitions

Tejal Pawale*, Shengzhu Yi*, Xiaowei Wang, Rui Zhang# and Xiao Li#

Soft Matter 18, 5939–5948 (2022). Featured in Cover.

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• Catapulting of topological defects through elasticity bands in active nematics

Nitin Kumar*, Rui Zhang*, Steven A. Redford*, Juan J. de Pablo and Margaret L. Gardel#

Soft Matter 18, 5271–5281 (2022).

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2021:

• Spatiotemporal Control of Liquid Crystal Structure and Dynamics Through Activity Patterning

Rui Zhang*, Steven Redford*, Paul Ruijrok, Nitin Kumar, Ali Mozaffari, Sasha Zemsky, Aaron Dinner, Vincenzo Vitelli, Zev Bryant, Margaret Gardel and Juan J. de Pablo

Nature Materials 20, 875–882 (2021). Reported by UChicago PME News, HKUST News.

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• Autonomous Materials Systems From Active Liquid Crystals

Rui Zhang*, Ali Mozaffari* and Juan J. de Pablo
Nature Reviews Materials 6, 437–453 (2021).

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• Interplay of Active Stress and Driven Flow in Self-Assembled, Tumbling Active Nematics

Weiqiang Wang and Rui Zhang#

Crystals 11, 1071 (2021), invited article.

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• Structures and Topological Defects in Pressure-Driven Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals

Qing Zhang*, Rui Zhang*, Baoliang Ge*, Zahi Yaqoob, Peter T. C. So and Irmgard Bischofberger

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 118 (35) e2108361118 (2021).

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• Defect Spirograph: Dynamical Behavior of Defects in Spatially Patterned Active Nematics

Ali Mozaffari*, Rui Zhang*, Noe Atzin and Juan J. de Pablo

Physical Review Letters 126, 227801 (2021).

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Prior to HKUST:

• Sculpting Stable Structures in Pure Liquids

Tadej Emersic*, Rui Zhang*, Ziga Kos*, Simon Copar*, Natan Osterman, Juan J. de Pablo and Uros Tkalec

Science Advances 5, eaav4283 (2019).

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• Emergence of Radial Tree of Elastic Bands in Active Nematics

Andrey Sokolov*, Ali Mozaffari*, Rui Zhang*, Juan J. de Pablo and Alexey Snezhko

Phys. Rev. X 9, 031014 (2019). Reported by UChicago PME News.

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• Interplay of Structure, Elasticity and Dynamics in Actin-Based Nematic Materials

Rui Zhang*, Nitin Kumar*, Jennifer Ross, Margaret L. Gardel and Juan J. de Pablo

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 115 (2) E124-E133 (2018).

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• Tunable Structure and Dynamics of Active Liquid Crystals

Nitin Kumar*, Rui Zhang*, Juan J. de Pablo and Margaret L. Gardel

Science Advances 4 (10), eaat7779 (2018).

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• Water Flux-Induced Reorientation of Liquid Crystals

Hadi Ramezani-Dakhel, Monirosadat Sadati, Rui Zhang, Mohammad Rahimi, Khia Kurtenbach, Benoit Roux and Juan J. de Pablo

ACS Central Science 3 (12), 1345 (2017). 

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• Dynamic Structure of Active Nematic Shells

Rui Zhang, Ye Zhou, Mohammad Rahimi and Juan J. de Pablo

Nature Communications 7, 13483 (2016). Reported by UChicago PME News; collected in Nature Research Topic "Active Matter".

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• Controlled Deformation of Vesicles by Flexible Structured Media

Rui Zhang, Ye Zhou, Jose A. Martinez-Gonzalez, Juan P. Hernandez-Ortiz, Nicholas L. Abbott and Juan J. de Pablo

Science Advances 2 (8), e1600978 (2016). Reported by UChicago News.

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• Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Asymmetric Flow in Nematic Liquid Crystals with Finite Anchoring

Rui Zhang, Tyler Roberts, Igor Aranson and Juan J. de Pablo

J. Chem. Phys. 144, 084905 (2016).

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• Multiscale Liquid Drop Impact on Wettable and Textured Surfaces

Rui Zhang, Samaneh Farokhirad, Taehun Lee and Joel Koplik

Phys. Fluids 26, 082003 (2014).

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• Separation of Nanoparticles by Flow past a Patterned Substrate

Rui Zhang and Joel Koplik

Phys. Rev. E 85, 026314 (2012). Reported by APS synopsis.