Hanwei Wang, PhD candidate at University of Illinois

I am pursuing my PhD degree at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My advisor is Prof. Yang Zhao. I am interested is in developing artificial electromagnetic metamaterials for the bio-sensing and biomedical imaging applications. My study ranges from the design of radio-frequency metamaterials to plasmonic nanostructures. The artificial materials are applied in wireless power transfer (WPT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), photoacoustic imaging, optical force nanoscopy, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. You can find my CV here and my google scholar page here.

News

I am excited to present my poster "Visualizing Ultrafast Photothermal Dynamics with Decoupled Optical Force Nanoscopy" in the GRS&GRC conference. (7/8/2022)

My new paper "Understanding the Spatiotemporal Resolution of Near-Field Photoacoustics from Nanostructures" is on ArXiv now. (5/25/2022)

I am thrilled to be one of the three finalists of Illinois Innovation Award this year! Check here for the news. (5/10/2022)

I am thrilled to receive three fellowships this years, including Hong, McCully, and Allen Fellowship from the ECE department, Yee Memorial Fund Fellowship from the CS department, and Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship from the Grainger College of Engineering! I sincerely appreciate for the generous gifts from the sponsors. (5/4/2022)

My work “‘Snowflakes’ on a Needle” is selected as one of the finalists for 2022 Image of Research Competition and exhibited in the main library of UIUC. (3/23/2022)

Our research of wireless charging of implanted medical devices is highlighted by media! Check here for the news. (3/10/2022)

I am so excited to be TA of ECE 444 this semester! (1/23/2022)

New non-provisional patent entitled "ULTRATHIN RECONFIGURABLE METAMATERIAL FOR SIGNAL ENHANCEMENT OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING" filed! (1/19/2022)

My new paper "A wearable metasurface for high efficiency, free-positioning omnidirectional wireless power transfer" can be viewed from The New Journal of Physics now. Link (12/13/2021)

Recent Progress

Optical force maps of a single nanorod with decoupled origins associated with the electrical field and the thermal field are successfully measured. Dynamical change of the thermal field with the time frame of 100 nanoseconds (ns) is observed. This is the first observation of a 100 ns-level nanoscopic thermal process. This technology can have a great impact in all photothermal effect-based sensing/imaging modalities, e.g. surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy and photoacoustic imaging.

After careful optimization, the optical force of single gold nanorods is observed.

The work of a near-field metasurface for MRI has been selected as the cover page of the journal VIEW (Volume 2, Issue 3).

Fellowships and Awards

1. Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship (2022), offered by the Grainger College of Engineering of UIUC
2. Yee Memorial Fund Fellowship (2022), offered by the CS Department of UIUC
3. Hong, Mccully, and Allen Fellowship (2021 & 2022), offered by the ECE Department of UIUC
4. Outstanding Bachelor Degree Thesis Award (2019), offered by the EE Department of Tsinghua University
5. Technological Innovation Scholarship (2019), offered by the Physics Department of Tsinghua University
6. Special Award of Challenge Cup (2018) , offered by Tsinghua University
7. Best Demo Award (2018) , offered by PowerMEMS 2018 conference
8. iSPARK Innovation Scholarship (2017), offered by Tsinghua University
9. Xuetang Talent Program Scholarship (2016), offered by Physics Department of Tsinghua University
10. Gold Award of Shing-Tung Yau Science Competition (2015), offered by Tsinghua University

Teaching Experiences

1. Teaching assistance of ECE 444 - Integrate Circuit Device Theory & Fabrication, 2022 spring web.
2. Teaching assistance of ECE 110 - Introduction to electronics, 2021 fall web. I was ranked as a excellent teacher in the teaching evaluation.
3. Teaching assistance of ECE 418 - Image & Video Processing, 2021 spring web. I was nominated for the Olsen Award for excellent performance in teaching.

Publications

1. Hanwei Wang, Yang Zhao, and Yun-Sheng Chen. Understanding the Spatiotemporal Resolution of Near-Field Photoacoustics from Nanostructures. ArXiv (2022).

2. Hanwei Wang, Yang Zhao, and Yun-Sheng Chen. A Wearable Metasurface for High Efficiency, Free-Positioning Omnidirectional Wireless Power Transfer. The New Journal of Physics (2021). Online

3. Yun-Sheng Chen, Yang Zhao, Corinne Beinat, Aimen Zlitni, En-Chi Hsu, Dong-Hua Chen, Friso Achterberg, Hanwei Wang, Tanya Stoyanova, Jennifer Dionne, and Sanjiv Gambhir. (2021) Ultra-high-frequency-radio-frequency-acoustic molecular imaging with saline nanodroplets in living subjects. Nature Nanotechnology. Online PDF

4. Hanwei Wang, Hsuan-Kai Huang, Yun-Sheng Chen, and Yang Zhao. (2021). On-Demand Field Shaping for Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using an Ultrathin Reconfigurable Metasurface. View (Cover page article). Online PDF

5. Hanwei Wang, Cheng Zhang, Yun Yang, Rebecca Hui Wen Liang, and S. Y. Hui. (2020). A Comparative Study on Overall Efficiency of 2-Dimensional Wireless Power Transfer Systems Using Rotational and Directional Methods. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. Online PDF

6. Nelson X. Wang, Hanwei Wang, Jie Mei, Sajjad Mohammadi, Jinyeong Moon, Jeffrey H. Lang, and James L. Kirtley. (2020). Robust Wireless Power Transfer System Based on Rotating Fields for Multi-User Charging. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion. Online PDF

7. Rebecca Liang, Hanwei Wang, Chi-Kwan Lee, and SY Ron Hui. (2020). Analysis and Performance Enhancement of Wireless Power Transfer Systems With Intended Metallic Objects. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 36(2), 1388-1398. Online PDF

8. Hanwei Wang, Nusrat Jahan, Shensheng Zhao, Arkajit Dutta, Hsuan-Kai Huang, Yang Zhao, and Yun-Sheng Chen. (2019). Optical force microscopy: combining light with atomic force microscopy for nanomaterial identification. Nanophotonics, 8(10), 1659-1671. Online PDF

9. Hanwei Wang, Cheng Zhang, and Shun Yuan Ron Hui. (2019). Visualization of Energy Flow in Wireless Power Transfer Systems. 2019 IEEE Wireless Power Transfer Conference (WPTC). Online PDF

10. Hanwei Wang, Maokun Li, Fan Yang, and Shengheng Xu. (2019, March). Analysis of QuasiPeriodic Effect in the Design of the Nanorod Metasurfaces. 2019 13th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP) (pp. 1-4). IEEE. Online PDF

11. Hanwei Wang, Nelson Xuntuo Wang, and Jeffrey H. Lang. (2019, November). Simulation and Modelling of a Spatially-Efficient 3D Wireless Power Transfer System for Multi-User Charging. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1407, No. 1, p. 012104). IOP Publishing. Online PDF