About Prof. Sheng

Email: sheng@ust.hk

Education

1967-71: Princeton University – Ph.D. in physics
1963-67: California Institute of Technology – B.S. in physics

Employment

1994 – present
Senior Member of the Institute for Advanced Study (from July 1, 2022)
Professor of Physics (Chair Professor from 2005-2022)
Professor Emeritus (since July 1, 2022)
Head of Physics Department (March 1999 – July 2008)
Dr. William M. W. Mong Chair Professor of Nanoscience (2006-2022)
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong

1979-94
Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey 08801, U.S.A.
Position: Senior Research Associate

1973-79
RCA David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, U.S.A.
Position: Member of the Technical Staff

1971-73
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, U.S.A.
Position: Visiting Scholar

Non-academic Position

Independent Director of the Board, Acoustic Metamaterials Group (from July 4, 2022)

Research Interests

Acoustic metamaterials, carbon nanostructures, giant electrorheological fluids, fluid-solid interfacial phenomena

Professional Honors

  • Fellow of the American Physical Society (elected 1987);
  • 2013 Brillouin Medal (International Phononics Society);
  • 2018 Rolf Landauer Medal (International ETOPIM Society);
  • Elected member of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences 2019;
  • 2021 Bloch Prize (International Phononics Society).

Professional Recognitions

  • Divisional Associate Editor, Physical Review Letters (2013-2016);
  • Editorial Board Member, New Journal of Physics (2012-2018);
  • Editorial Board Member, Acta Physica Sinica and Chinese Physics of the Chinese Physical Society (since 2008);
  • Editorial Board Member, Wuli of the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2007-2013);
  • Editorial Board Member, Proceedings of Royal Society A (2006-2012);
  • Editorial Board Member, Multiscale Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation (2002-2011);
  • Executive Editor, Solid State Communications (2005-2019).

Academic Publications

Over 450 refereed journal publications (56 in Physical Review Letters, 4 in Science, 4 in Nature Materials); over 400 plenary and invited presentations; one monograph; thirty-two U.S. patents; eight edited/co-edited books, >56,400 citations, H index is 104 (from Google Scholar, 2024).

Personal

Date of Birth: July 1, 1946
Citizenship: Naturalized U.S. citizen; Hong Kong permanent resident; Taiwan citizen

Major Scholarly Contributions

  1. Acoustic metamaterials. Prof. Sheng is the conceptual initiator and the leader of the effort that initiated the whole field of acoustic metamaterials that is now a robust area of research. A startup company, Acoustic Metamaterials Group, was founded in 2014 by Prof. Sheng’s former students and postdocs and has achieved product commercialization (Publication #1 and #8).
  2. Giant electrorheological fluid. Prof. Sheng led the effort that resulted in the discovery of the giant electrorheological fluid (GERF), which is based on molecular dipoles rather than the induced dipoles as in the traditional electrorheological effect. (Publication #2).
  3. Resolution of the classical moving contact line problem, i.e., the incompatibility between the moving contact line (in two-phase immiscible flows) and the no-slip liquid-solid boundary condition. In 2000, Prof. Sheng led the effort that resulted in the first continuum hydrodynamics solution of the moving contact line problem that can quantitatively reproduce the results of molecular dynamics simulations. Predictions of the theory were subsequently verified by experiments. (Publication #3).
  4. Fluctuation-induced tunnelling conduction in disordered materials. Prof. Sheng’s seminal work in this area provided a quantitative explanation for the conductivity behaviour of many disordered materials, including the conducting polymer. (Publication #4).
  5. Authored an influential monograph on the physics of waves, that gave a lucid description of the relevant physics of classical and quantum waves interacting with disordered media. (Publication #5).
  6. Reported the first evidence of superconductivity in carbon nanotubes, that represents the beginning of a continuing quest on this topic up to the present. (Publication #6).
  7. Resolved a classical problem on group wave velocity in resonant-scattering composite media, that represents a conceptual breakthrough on this classical dilemma. (Publication #7).
  8. Realized broadband, absorption-by-design applications of acoustic metamaterials, that solved the long-standing conundrum of narrow-frequency character of acoustic metamaterials arising from their inherent resonant nature. This research represents the breakthrough that made possible the commercial applications of acoustic metamaterials (Publication #8).
  9. Co-authored a well-cited review article on acoustic metamaterial, that traced its development from its beginning as a scientific curiosity to its development into a field driven by both exciting basic research and robust applications. (Publication #9).
  10. Led the effort in developing novel structural designs to effect broadband microwave and under water acoustic absorbers that can impedance-match with vacuum and water, respectively, over a very broad frequency range. (Publications #10 and #11).

Eleven Selected Scientific Publications (Citation numbers from Google Scholar, 2023)

  1. “Locally Resonant Sonic Materials”, Z. Liu, X. Zhang, Y. Mao, Y. Y. Zhu, Z. Yang, C.T. Chan and Ping Sheng, Science 289, 1734-1736 (2000). (>5,000)
  2. “The Giant Electrorheological Effect in Suspensions of Nanoparticles”, W. Wen, X. Huang, S. Yang, K. Lu and Ping Sheng, Nature Materials 2, 727-730 (2003). (>670)
  3. “Molecular Scale Contact Line Hydrodynamics of Immiscible Flows”, T. Qian, X.P. Wang and Ping Sheng, Phys. Rev. E 68, 016306 (2003). (>445)
  4. “Fluctuation-Induced Tunneling Conduction in Disordered Materials”, Ping Sheng, Phys. Rev. B 21, 2180 (1980). (>1,250)
  5. “Introduction to Wave Scattering, Localization, and Mesoscopic Phenomena” 2nd Edition, Ping Sheng (Springer, Heidelberger, 2006) 340 pages. (>640)
  6. “Superconductivity in 4-Angstrom Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes”, Z. K. Tang, L. Zhang, N. Wang, X. X. Zhang, G. H. Wen, G. D. Li, J. N. Wang, C. T. Chan and Ping Sheng, Science 292, 2462-2465 (2001). (>1,050)
  7. “Group Velocity in Strongly Scattering Media”, J. Page, Ping Sheng, H. Schriemer, I. Jones, X. Jing and D. Weitz, Science 271, 634 (1996). (>140)
  8. “Optimal Sound-absorbing Structures”, M. Yang, S. Y. Chen, C. X. Fu and Ping Sheng, Materials Horizons, 4, 673-680 (2017). (>360)
  9. “Acoustic Metamaterials: From Local Resonances to Broad Horizons”, G. C. Ma and Ping Sheng, Science Advances 2: doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1501595 (2016). (>1,100)
  10. “Conceptual-based Design of an Ultrabroadband Microwave Metamaterial Absorber”, S. Qu, Y. Hou and Ping Sheng, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, e2110490118 (2021). (38)
  11. “Underwater Metamaterial Absorber with Impedance-matched Composite”, S. Qu, N. Gao, A. Tinel, B. Morvan, V. Romero-García, J.-P. Groby and Ping Sheng, Science Advances 8, eabm4206 (2022). (24)

Total number of refereed publications: >400 ; Citations: >51,700 ; H-index: 101 (Google Scholar, 2023)

Knowledge Transfer Contribution

A startup company, Acoustic Metamaterials Group (AMG), was founded by my two former students, Dr. Shuyu Chen and Dr. Min Yang, in 2014. AMG’s technology is based on the research results of my group. By reducing the mass-production cost, AMG is now the only company in the world that has the capacity for commercial production of acoustic metamaterials. It ranks No. 1 in annual product shipment of acoustic metamaterials among the six peer companies worldwide in 2020-21. As an example of its recent success, AMG has partnered with KEF, a top UK hi-fi speaker company, in the development of a new line of meta-series speakers that won the product of year award in 2020 (http://eisa.eu/awards/hi-fi/). AMG has the plan to expand its business internationally in the near future.