Li Yuan

 
 

Contact Information

Email: yuanl20@seas.upenn.edu
Phone: 445-456-8990
Mail Address: 112 Towne Building (main lab); M36 Towne Building (CVD lab)

Education

Ph.D. candidate, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, 2020-present
M.S., Solid Mechanics, Tsinghua University, 2017-2020
B.S., Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, 2013-2017

Research interest

      • Fabrication, physics and mechanics of two-dimensional (2D) and soft materials
      • Mechanically guided self-assembly and morphology evolution
      • Interfacial mechanics, adhesion, and friction across scales
      • Multiscale modeling integrating continuum theory and atomistic simulations

      Honors & Awards

      • President Gutmann Leadership Award, University of Pennsylvania, 2025
      • STLE Philadelphia Scholarship, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (Philadelphia Chapter), 2023 (Invited talk, in recognition of excellence in tribology research)
      • Outstanding Master’s Graduate, Tsinghua University, 2020
      • Academic Excellence Scholarship, Tsinghua University, 2017
      • Tsinghua Talent Development Scholarship, Tsinghua University, 2014-2016
      • Freshman Merit Scholarship, Tsinghua University, 2013

      Publications

      • Zholdassov, Y.S., Yuan, L., Garcia, S.R., Kwok, R.W., Boscoboinik, A., Valles, D.J., Marianski, M., Martini, A., Carpick, R.W. and Braunschweig, A.B. (2023). Acceleration of Diels–Alder reactions by mechanical distortion. Science, 380, 1053–1058. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adf5273
      • Capaldi, L.N., Yuan, L., Qu, C., Sánchez, D.A., Carpick, R.W., & Tertuliano, O.A. (2025). High-throughput formation of 3D van der Waals auto-kirigami. Nano Letters, 25(10), 3964–3971. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c06637
      • Sanchez, D.A., Yuan, L., Leventhal, A., Fulco, S., Cross, G.L., & Carpick, R.W. (2025). From auto-kirigami to drumheads: Suspended, self-tearing, and strained graphene nanostructures formed by nanoindentation. Langmuir, 41(7), 4491–4497. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c03914
      • Sinnott, P.C., Jadidi, M.F., Sánchez, D.A., Yuan, L., Carpick, R.W., & Cross, G.L. (2024). Superlubric sliding of graphene auto-kirigami with interfaces containing self-assembled stripe-pattern adsorbates. Small, 20(45), 2401979. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202401979
      • Yuan, L., Bao, H., Yao, X., Lu, J. and Liu, J. (2021). Distribution of conformal contact pressure in spherical plain bearings considering friction and free-edge effects. Proc. IMechE Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology, 235(9), 1851–1867. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350650120975519
      • Yuan, L., Yao, X. and Yang, H. (2019). Multiscale modelling of strain-resistance behaviour for graphene rubber composites under large deformation. Nanoscale, 11, 21554–21568. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9NR05036A
      • Yuan, L., Qu, C., Zhang, S., Cross, G.L.W., & Carpick, R.W. Graphene auto-kirigami via AFM lithography. Submitted to: Nature Materials
      • Yuan, L., Martini, A., Li, S., & Carpick, R.W. Atomic-Level Roughness–Tuned Stick-Slip Friction of Supported Graphene. Submitted to: Physical Review Letters