Events

Applications of liquid crystals beyond display technology

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Lecture / Panel
 
For NYU Community
William Wang Headshot

Speaker

Xiaoguang Wang

Ohio State University

 

Bio

Xiaoguang (William) Wang is the H.C. “Slip” Slider Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. He received his B.S. (2008) and M.S. (2011) in Chemical Engineering from Zhejiang University, China, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (2016) from University of Wisconsin-Madison under the supervision of Prof. Nicholas L. Abbott. He conducted postdoctoral research with Prof. Joanna Aizenberg at Harvard University. Dr. Wang’s research focuses on liquid crystals, polymers, and colloids, with a focus on how spatial confinement shapes molecular order, topology, and dynamics in soft matter systems. He serves as Associate Editor of npj Soft Matter and has received honors including NSF CAREER Award and ACS PMSE Early Investigator Award.

 

Abstract

Liquid crystals (LCs), a class of structured fluids that combine crystalline-like long-range order with liquid-like mobility, have been widely used in display technology. However, with the transition from liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to light-emitting diode (LED) technologies, new opportunities arise to use LCs beyond displays. My research uses confinement as a design principle to expand LC functionality. In my presentation, I will first discuss an LC-film sensor for detecting COVID-19 RNA, where interfacial confinement couples long-range molecular ordering with stimuli-responsiveness to achieve label-free biosensing. Building on this principle, I will show how nematic LCs confined in micropillar lattices act as memory surfaces, encoding stable flow histories through topological defect structure. Next, I will present our discovery that using LC solvents as molecular-scale confinement during polymerization can imprint orientational order onto amorphous polymers, unlocking their potential in programmable shape-changing actuators and soft robotics. Finally, I will demonstrate how LC confinement can control the release of embedded objects, where droplet impact provides interfacial stress that reorganizes LC alignment and drives cargo release.