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Professor Bin Xu

Professor

Department: Mechanical and Construction Engineering

Dr Ben B. Xu  FRSC, FIMMM, FRSA, FICS, is a full professor in materials and mechanics with a multi-disciplinary research interest covering functional materials, applied mechanics, micro-engineering , energy conversion&storage, and sustainable and enrironmental technology. Ben obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Heriot-watt University in 2011. He subsequently worked as a postdoc researcher in Department of Polymer Science and Engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst (US, 2011-2013). Ben is a visiting professor in UCLA (US), University of Alberta (CA), The University of Sydney (AU), Manipal University (India), etc. 

Ben is a chair for division of 'composites' in AICHE (US) and the Materials Characterisation&Properties Group in the Institute of Materials, Mining and Minerals (IoM3). He has published 7 patents, 10 book(incl. chapters) and over 250 peer-reviewed articles in the leading journals, including Sci. Adv.Nat. Commun., Adv.  Mater., Adv. Energy. Mater., Adv. Fun. Mater., Energy. Environ. Sci., Phys. Rev. Lett., etc (h-index 54). Ben has been invited to give 100+ invited/plenary talks in international conferences/leading institutions, chaired 30+ international events and reviewed paper publications for 100+ journals. He serves as an associate editor for Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials (Springer Nature),EcoMat (Wiley) and Advanced Devices & Instrumentation (AAAS), and an editorial board member for Nano Materials Science (Elesevier). He received awards as Excellence in Research- mid-career award from AICHE (2023), 2023 Nano-Micro Letters ESI TOP ARTICLE AWARD, 2023 Technology for Social Impact Award in The IET Excellence and Innovation Award Event, the Outstanding Paper Award at the 2018 IEEE International Flexible Electronics Technology Conference, 2016 Young Investigator Award from the International Polymer Networks Group, etc.  

Ben is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Mining and Minerals (FIMMM), Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA), Fellow of India Chemical Society (FICS). He has been holding leadingship roles in different councils, such as:
1. An elected member in the Advisory Council in IoM3 from 2019;
2. An elected member in the RSC Materials Chemistry Division Council (2020-2023);
3. RSC North East Coast Committee member from 2020;
4. The executive committee member for The Chinese Society of Chemical Science and Technology (CSCST-UK) from 2016; 

Progresses from Ben’s research have been featured by media presses in 

2020:

EPSRChttps://epsrc.ukri.org/newsevents/news/researchers-discover-novel-optical-sensing-technology/  

Materials Worldhttps://www.iom3.org/materials-world-magazine/news/2020/jun/03/elastic-folding-soft-matter-surfaces-aids-highcontrast

Materials views chinahttps://www.materialsviewschina.com/2020/09/48634/   

phys.orghttps://phys.org/news/2020-04-optical-technology.html

NECONNECTED: https://neconnected.co.uk/fold-to-glitter-researchers-discover-novel-optical-sensing-technology/

polymer.cnhttps://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/6VDqUepzulrDgX_yWjnv2g

 

2019:

UK Fluids Networkhttps://fluids.mzs.arpa.cam.ac.uk

phys.orghttps://phys.org/news/2019-07-red-wine-key-next-gen-wearable.html

Materials views chinahttps://www.materialsviewschina.com/2019/08/39476/?from=timeline&isappinstalled=0

 

Before 2019:

NECONNECTED: https://neconnected.co.uk/northumbria-scientists-win-national-photography-prize/

Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/science/gallery/2017/apr/03/from-eureka-to-equipment-images-that-show-another-side-of-science-in-pictures-epsrc-photo-competition-2017

Telegraphhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/02/epsrc-photography-competition-2017/dr-ben-xu-mr-ding-wang3rd-placeeureka-discovery-categorythis/

Materials views chinahttps://www.materialsviewschina.com/2016/04/21008/

Bin Xu

Campus Address

Ellison Building



004401912273608

Dr Xu is currently leading a research group in Northumbria to develop multidisciplinary research programmes, from fundamental understanding on engineering science to innovating the enabling technologies. His researches in extreme mechanics and functional materials includes the design and understanding of morphing structures, the development of novel flexible/wearable sensing/actuating structure/devices, the realization of functional surface/interface with unique chemical-physical features, the innovation of new circular economy technology using recycled plastic wastes and the exploration of future renewable energy solutions.

He has developed a novel approach to realise the sensing/actuation function by introducing elastic instabilities into the micro-engineered structure in a controllable manner, which shed extra lights in developing future micro-devices, especially in the sectors of flexible/wearable electronics, soft robots, etc. His work on soft active matter and developing novel micro-device is supported by the Royal Society, EPSRC and industries.

Progresses from Ben’s research have been featured by media presses in EPSRC,Materials WorldUK Fluids Networkphys.org 2020, NECONNECTED 2020, phys.org 2019, GuardianTelegraphNECONNECTED 2019, polymer.cnMaterials views china 2019, Materials views china 2016.

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • 3D macroporous Ti3C2Tx MXene/cellulose nanofiber/rGO hybrid aerogel electrode with superior energy density, Bi, X., Shi, Y., Ge, S., Xu, B., Li, X., He, X., Huang, R. 1 Apr 2024, In: Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials
  • A Cellulose/Chitosan Dual Cross-Linked Multifunctional and Resilient Hydrogel for Emergent Open Wound Management, Lu, S., Wu, H., Ge, S., Huang, L., Chen, L., Connor, C., Guo, Z., Jiang, Y., Xu, B., Peng, W. 17 May 2024, In: Advanced healthcare materials
  • A homogeneous plating/stripping mode with fine grains for highly reversible Zn anodes, Luo, Z., Xia, Y., Chen, S., Wu, X., Akinlabi, E., Xu, B., Pan, H., Yan, M., Jiang, Y. 21 Sep 2024, In: Energy and Environmental Science
  • Amoxicillin-laded sodium alginate/cellulose nanocrystals/polyvinyl alcohol composite nanonetwork sponges with enhanced wound healing and antibacterial performance, Qi, H., Yang, L., Ma, R., Xiang, Y., Dai, Y., Ren, J., Xu, B., El-Bahy, Z., Thabet, H., Huang, Z., Ben, W., Yu, H., Guo, Z. 15 Sep 2024, In: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
  • A novel solar-driven energy-storage- based hybrid desalination system, Jamil, M., Xu, B., Ng, K., Imtiaz, N., Chen, Q., Imran, M., Jiang, Y., Shahzad, M. 1 Aug 2024, Recent Advances in Materials for Energy Harvesting and Storage, Bristol, IOP Publishing Ltd.
  • An overview of green synthesized silver nanoparticles towards bioactive antibacterial, antimicrobial and antifungal applications, Gong, X., Jadhav, N., Lonikar, V., Kulkarni, A., Zhang, H., Sankapal, B., Ren, J., Xu, B., Pathan, H., Ma, Y., Lin, Z., Witherspoon, E., Wang, Z., Guo, Z. 1 Jan 2024, In: Advances in colloid and interface science
  • Anticorrosion and discharge performance of calcium and neodymium co-doped AZ61 alloy anodes for Mg-air batteries, Liu, B., Gao, A., Zhang, Z., He, M., Xu, B., Shi, X., Wu, P., Guo, S., Amin, M., Elsharkawy, E., Guo, Z. 10 Sep 2024, In: Journal of Materials Science and Technology
  • Artificial Compound Eye with Tunable Properties for Enhancement in Fluorescence Imaging and Raman Detection, Kassim, K., Lu, Q., Maeda, N., Wang, X., Xu, B., Zhang, X. 25 Sep 2024, In: Advanced Functional Materials
  • Boosting the performance of aqueous zinc-ion battery by regulating the electrolyte solvation structure, Wu, X., Xia, Y., Chen, S., Luo, Z., Zhang, X., Shahzad, M., Xu, B., Pan, H., Yan, M., Jiang, Y. 1 Mar 2024, In: EcoMat
  • Concave Microlens Arrays with Tunable Curvature for Enhanced Photodegradation of Organic Pollutants in Water: A Non-contact Approach, Lu, Q., Li, Y., Kassim, K., Xu, B., Gamal El-Din, M., Zhang, X. 1 Jan 2024, In: EcoMat

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Smart materials and surfaces enabled resilience engineering technology, Xu, B. (Principal Investigator), Xu, B. (Co Investigator), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 01/02/18 - 21/11/18, £1,025.00
  • EE 3D printed smart materials structure and device for advanced engineering, Xu, B. (Principal Investigator), Xu, B. (Co Investigator), Jinbaian Steel Product Co Ltd, 01/10/16 - 30/09/19, £75,000.00
  • Dynamically monitoring in plane strain transformation/localization during creasing of the gel surface, Xu, B. (Principal Investigator), Xu, B. (Co Investigator), The Royal Society, 31/03/16 - 30/03/17, £14,586.00
  • Stimuli-responsive gel based microfluidic switch, Xu, B. (Principal Investigator), Xu, B. (Co Investigator), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 01/10/15 - 30/07/17, £122,266.00
  • Mechanics and application of the micro-engineered smart structure, Xu, B. (Principal Investigator), Xu, B. (Co Investigator), Reece Group Limited, 01/02/15 - 31/01/18, £41,400.00
  • SMSL-REECE Joint Summer Undergraduate Research Internship Program, Xu, B. (Principal Investigator), Xu, B. (Co Investigator), Reece Group Limited, 09/06/14 - 30/09/14, £10,900.00
  • COST Training School - Particles at Liquid Interfaces: Fundamentals and Applications, Xu, B. (Principal Investigator), Xu, B. (Co Investigator), COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), 02/04/14 - 05/04/14, £508.00

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Examination: PhD examination in Manchester University 2022
  • Examination: PhD examination in Newcastle University 2022
  • Editorial work: Advanced Devices & Instrumentation (Journal) 2022
  • Membership of board: The IOM3 Materials Characterisation & Properties Group (External organisation) 2022
  • Editorial work: Editor board member for Green Energy and Environmental Technology (Event) 2022
  • Editorial work: Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials (Journal) 2022
  • Examination: PhD examination in the University of Edinburgh 2022
  • Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: The 28th CSCST-SCI Annual Conference 2021
  • Editorial work: Guest Editor for Special Issue of ‘Beyond Lithium: A New Era of Sustainable Energy Engineering’ for Small (Event) 2021
  • Examination: PhD examination in Northumbria University 2021

  • Ansu Sun 3D Printing Assisted Development of Bio-inspired Structure and Device for Advanced Engineering Start Date: 01/03/2017 End Date: 10/09/2022
  • Panagiotis Galatis Start Date: 16/05/2017
  • Panagiotis Galatis Start Date: 16/05/2017
  • Qiumei Jing Market analysis of novel sustainable energy system for Net Zero in England and China Start Date: 01/03/2022
  • Jiang Kaixin Advanced Leading Edge Protection System based on Machine Learning and AI Start Date: 01/07/2024
  • Zhuofan Qin Paper based hybrid micro-electronics Start Date: 18/01/2021
  • Sreepathy Sridhar Nature Inspired Surface/Interface Engineering Towards Advanced Device Applications Start Date: 01/10/2017 End Date: 20/05/2021
  • Yuan Wang Design and development of reliable electrode for high-performance hydrogen production under fluctuating power supply Start Date: 01/10/2022
  • Ding Wang Mechanics Study and Application of Micro-Engineered Smart Surface Start Date: 01/02/2015 End Date: 06/11/2019

  • Education PGCert October 01 2015
  • Mechanical Engineering PhD November 01 2011
  • Materials Science MSc July 01 2006
  • Polymers and Textiles BSc (Hons) June 30 2003
  • Fellow of The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce FRSA 2020
  • Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry FRSC 2019
  • Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining FIMMM 2016
  • Other (please specify) Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) 2015
  • Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2015
  • Member American Chemical Society 2011
  • Member Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) 2010


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