Hongri “Richard” Gu
Hi, my name is Hongri “Richard” Gu (顾红日). I am an incoming tenure track assistant professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and will start my own research group within the division of Integrated System and Design (ISD).
Email: hongrigu@ust.hk
Short Bio
I studied mechatronic engineering at Zhejiang University from 2009 to 2014. During my bachelor program, I joined Young Scientist Exchange Program (YSEP) in Tokyo Institute of Technology as an exchange student focusing on microfabrication and electrohydrodynamic (EHD) systems from 2012-2014. Later I started the master program of Micro and Nano System at ETH Zurich and finished in 2016. From 2017 to 2021, I did my PhD at Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, ETH Zurich with Prof. Brad Nelson. During my PhD, I also worked as editorial assistant to Brad. In 2022, I got the postdoc fellowship from Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and start working at the Department of Physics at the University of Konstanz, Germany. Collaboration with Prof. Clemens Bechinger, I investigate the application of collective states of active matter, apply reinforcement learning in swarm microrobots, and study magnetic friction between surfaces. From Jan 2025, I will join Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and will start my own research group within the division of Integrated System and Design (ISD).
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Research Interests
My research focuses on designing structured magnetic materials and robotic systems that can facilitate our understanding of fundamental multi-scale physiological transport and use the acquired knowledge to invent next-generation medical devices and surgical tools. Today, we are witnessing a paradigm shift from conventional robots to mechanically intelligent robotic materials with distributed sensing, computation, and actuation capabilities. These mechanically intelligent systems open up new avenues of research and applications in (i) extreme and unconstructed environments, where electronics can fail with high temperature and humidity, (ii) implanted medical devices, where materials and devices are required to degrade in the human body, and (iii) disposable devices, where cost need to be minimized.
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