SHAN Research Group (SRG) at Syracuse University (SU) are a team of mechanicians, materials engineers and roboticists who are interested in interdisciplinary research in Smart, Hybrid, Active and Nature-inspired Materials, Mechanics, and Machines (SHAN 3M). An expert in these areas, Principal Investigator Dr. Wanliang Shan spearheads SRG’s multifaceted synergistic research efforts. We are currently located at Link Hall on the beautiful serene main campus of Syracuse University, which sits in the southern part of Syracuse, NY. Group activities and research updates can be found on Page News.
Our research, innovation and educational efforts have been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Syracuse University (SU), and University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Most of the projects have been funded through different NSF initiatives and programs including National Robotics Initiative (NRI), Partnership for Innovation (PFI), Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), the Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students (INTERN) program, the Career-Life Balance (CLB) program, and in particular, an NSF Early Career Award (2023) from the Mechanics of Materials and Structures (MoMS) program.
Our work has been published with high impact journals including Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Materials Interfaces, Advanced Intelligent Systems, Soft Matter, Extreme Mechanics Letters, and International Journal of Solids and Structures. Six patents have been issued or filed based on our research outcome. A spinoff startup, TunaBotics, has been founded and received investment from the NSF SBIR program. Our group members have moved on to professional careers in academia, national labs, startups, and big corporations.
Summer 2025. Video credit: Yanbing Tang.
Dr. Shan has taught ECS222 Dynamics, MAE525 Soft Robotics, and MAE 625 Fracture Mechanics at SU. He actively engages in entrepreneurship activities with undergraduate and graduate students on and off SU campus. In his spare time, Dr. Shan enjoys playing pickup basketball games regularly with SU students, staff, and professors, as well as local friends in Syracuse. In winter and spring, Dr. Shan also enjoys skiing with family and friends.
Dr. Shan is on sabbatical leave from SU for the 2025-2026 academic year. He is visiting a few nearby universities, including Cornell, SUNY Poly, and Penn, and spending significant time on his startup company, TunaBotics.