Soft Robotics is an emerging and interdisciplinary research field. Compared to traditional robots that consist of extensive rigid components, such as sever motors and electronic devices, soft robots are made with soft materials or flexible mechanisms, leading to better adaption to the shapes of targeted objects, easier manipulation in narrow spaces, and more comfortable when interacting with the human body. Because of these advantages,  soft robots could potentially be applied in medical, industrial, military, and many other fields. 

Our group focuses on the magnetic actuation and electromagnetic control of soft robots. The main research areas include "Design and actuation of soft actuators based on soft materials or flexible mechanisms", "Function integration and systematic motion control", and "Self-sensing and environmental perception".

Research Interest：
1. Magnetic actuation and electromagnetic control of soft actuators
2. Design, actuation, and medical application of magnetically actuated soft robots
3. Intelligent soft robots
4. Functional soft and intelligent materials
5. Hybrid rigid-flexible robots

Opening positions：

We invite outstanding and highly self-motivated students to apply for master's and Ph.D. degrees in the school of electrical engineering. Candidates majoring in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, mechanics, or material science are particularly encouraged to apply. 

A postdoctoral position is immediately available in the school of electrical engineering. Candidates with a strong background in soft robotics, medical robots, intelligent materials, and electrical machines are preferred.

Interested candidates should contact Dr. Qiji Ze directly at qijize@xjtu.edu.cn with a personal statement and a complete curriculum vitae.

Dr. Qiji Ze has published more than 40 scientific papers in high-impact journals and international conferences, including Nature Communication, Science Advances, PNAS, Advanced Materials, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, and Journal of Applied Mechanics. Among them, 1 paper was selected as the ESI Hot Paper, 4 papers were selected as ESI Highly Cited Paper, 4 papers were selected as Cover Paper, and 2 papers were reported by Nature Research Highlights. 

Dr. Qiji Ze has received several research awards, including the Cozzarelli Prize Finalist Award, ASME Henry Hess Early Career Publication Award, and Stanford Bio-X Best Poster Award. Many famous medias highlighted and reported his research, including CNN, National Geographic, NSF News, Science Daily, and MIT Technology Review.

Selected Publications:

(#Co-first Author，*Corresponding Author)

(1) Qiji Ze^#, Shuai Wu^#, Jize Dai, Sophie Leanza, Gentaro Ikeda, Phillip C. Yang, Gianluca Iaccarino, Ruike Renee Zhao^*. Spinning-enabled wireless amphibious origami millirobot, Nature Communications, 1, 2022. (IF:17.69, CNN, Nature Research Highlights, 科学网, 简介)

(2) Qiji Ze^#, Shuai Wu^#, Jun Nishikawa, Jize Dai, Yue Sun, Sophie Leanza, Cole Zemelka, Larissa S Novelino, Glaucio H Paulino^*, Ruike Renee Zhao^*. Soft robotic origami crawler, Science Advances, 13, 2022. (IF:14.14, Cover paper, 简介)

(3) Qiji Ze^#, Xiao Kuang#, Shuai Wu^#, Janet Wong, S. Macrae Montgomery, Rundong Zhang, Joshua M. Kovitz, Fengyuan Yang, H. Jerry Qi^*, and Ruike Zhao^*. Magnetic shape memory polymers with integrated multifunctional shape manipulation, Advanced Materials, 32(4), 1-8, 2020. (IF:32.09, Cover paper, NSF news, 简介)

(4) Shuai Wu^#, Qiji Ze^#, Jize Dai, Nupur Udipi, Glaucio H. Paulino^*, and Ruike Zhao^*. Stretchable origami robotic arm with omnidirectional bending and twisting, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(36), 1-9, 2021. (IF:12.78, Nature Research Highlights, PNAS in this issue, 简介)
(5) Larissa S. Novelino^#, Qiji Ze^#, Shuai Wu^#, Glaucio H. Paulino^*, and Ruike Zhao^*. Untethered control of functional origami microrobots with distributed actuation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(39), 24096-24101, 2020. (IF:12.78, 简介)

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_LPKRrUAAAAJ&hl=en

Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Qiji-Ze