On 11 May 2026, Prof. Stephen Z. D. CHENG, Member of the National Academy of Engineering, USA, and Dean and Honourable Professor of School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, delivered a PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Superlattice Engineering of Soft Alloys in Giant Molecules” at the PolyU campus. The lecture attracted an audience of over 50 scholars, researchers and students onsite, and nearly 14,300 online viewers across various social media platforms.
In traditional materials science, the natural arrangement of molecules and atoms directly determines a material’s physical and chemical properties. Prof. Cheng’s research challenges this conventional paradigm by proposing that materials should be designed from the atomic and molecular levels. Through precise molecular design and modular assembly—much like building with Lego bricks—materials can be constructed from the ground up to exhibit targeted properties.
Prof. Cheng explained that scientists can now synthesise giant molecules with highly controllable architectures and employ them as stable, predictable building blocks. This enables researchers to first define the desired functions of a material and then construct the precise molecular architecture required to realise those functions, offering unprecedented flexibility in materials design.
Prof. Cheng further shared how his team precisely control the size and volume of “Molecular Legos”, then successfully created soft alloys with metal-like superlattice features. These breakthroughs establish a foundation for metamaterials with programmable properties, offering strong potential in advanced electronics, high-sensitivity sensors, and next-generation thermal and energy management technologies.
The lecture concluded with an engaging Q&A session moderated by Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research), Kuok Group Professor in Nature-Inspired Engineering, and Chair Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at PolyU. Addressing a question on mesoatom volume asymmetry in giant-molecule soft-alloy superlattices, Prof. Cheng emphasised how subtle structural differences can spark new properties. He also encouraged young people to step beyond their comfort zones and face challenges with resilience.
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| Topics | PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series |
|---|---|
| Research Units | PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research |
Prof. Stephen Z. D. CHENG
Member of National Academy of Engineering, USA
Frank C. Sullivan Distinguished Research Professor, The University of Akron
Dean and Honorable Professor of School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology
Prof. Cheng is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (USA), the former Dean of the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering at the University of Akron, appointed as Frank C. Sullivan Distinguished Research Professor, Trustees and Robert C. Musson Professor at the University of Akron. He is currently Dean and Honorable Professor of the School of Emergent Soft Matter and the South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, South China University of Technology.
His research interests centre on the condensed matters in polymers, liquid crystals, surfactants and hybrid materials, and focuses on the interactions, responses, dynamics, and structures of materials on varying length, energy and time scales in which the material itself embodies the technology. His research activities include investigations of transition thermodynamics and kinetics in metastable states, ordered structures and morphologies, surface and interface structures in electronic and optical materials and advanced functional hybrid materials. He has published more than 700 academic research articles with an h-index of 94.
He has received the Presidential Young Investigator Award (1991), the John H. Dillon Medal of the American Physical Society (1995), the Mettler-Toledo Award of the North American Thermal Analysis Society (1999), the TA-Instrument Award of the International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (2004), the Collaborative Research Award of the Division of Polymer Materials Science and Engineering of the American Chemical Society (2005), Polymer Physics Prize of the American Physical Society (2013), International Award of the Society of Polymer Science of Japan (2017), Qian Baojun Distinguished Fiber Achievement Award (2023), among many other academic awards. He has elected as Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Physical Society (APS), PMSE American Chemical Society (ACS), Honorary Fellow of Chinese Chemical Society (CCS), National Academy of Inventors (NAI, USA) and others.
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