GTIIT-STU optics seminar
Title: Electronic skins for continuous health monitoring
Speaker: Professor Yan Wang
1化学工程学院，广东东以色列理工学院, 中国广东省汕头市金平区大学路241号, 515063
1 Department of Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT), Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China.
2化学工程学院，以色列理工学院，以色列海法，32000
2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (IIT), Haifa 32000, Israel
Abstract
One limitation of commercial wearables, such as smartwatches and fitness bands, is their inability to establish conformable contact with human skin due to their rigid form factors, which restrict their monitoring capabilities. In contrast, soft bioelectronics offer a promising platform for personalized health care, thanks to their unique attributes, including thinness, lightweight design, excellent biocompatibility, mechanical robustness, and superior skin conformability. Permeable, skin-mountable electronics designed for long-term use have emerged as powerful tools for early disease prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Dr. Wang’s research primarily focuses on the development of unconventional soft materials for advanced electronic skins. In today’s presentation, Dr. Wang will discuss high-performance electronic skins created using intrinsically stretchable materials, such as nanomeshes and hydrogels, for continuous health monitoring. These innovations enable precise measurement of various electrophysiological signals without compromising comfort, accuracy, or stability, supporting long-term health monitoring applications. By integrating these materials, her group is overcoming previous limitations and enhancing device adherence to complex body contours. Moreover, these developments pave the way for real-time data collection and remote diagnostics, significantly improving patient outcomes and preventive care strategies. The interdisciplinary approach combines materials science, engineering, and biomedical research, fostering next-generation health monitoring solutions that adapt to the human body.
Biography
Dr. Yan Wang is currently an Associate Professor at Guangdong Technion. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Monash University in 2018. She completed her postdoc training at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Tokyo in 2021. In soft electronics field, Dr. Yan Wang has published over 50 scientific articles in flagship journals like Science, Nature Electronics, Science Advances, PNAS, Chemical Society Reviews, Advanced Materials, etc., h-index of 32, 4 ESI highly cited papers, granted 1 Australia patent and applied for 3 US patents, and won several scientific awards, such as Guangdong Province Major Talent Program (Youth), JMCC Emerging Investigators (2025), Nanoscale Emerging Investigators (2022), and 2018 Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad. Her research works were featured by renowned CNN, Science, major Australian media such as Herald Sun, and Japanese media such as Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. At Guangdong Technion, her group mainly focuses on materials development and the practical implementation of soft wearables in real-life situations towards ambulatory health care and the Internet of Thing.