​Biography

Dr. Chase Cao is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (Primary), Electrical, Computer & Systems Engineering, and Civil & Environmental Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and directs the Laboratory for Soft Machines and Electronics (SME) affiliated with the Case School of Engineering at CWRU. He is also a faculty investigator at the Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. 

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Dr. Cao received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science from the Australian National University (ANU) and then completed his postdoctoral training in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Duke University. Prior to joining CWRU, he was a faculty member in Packaging, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering at Michigan State University. His research interests are primarily in soft (active) materials, soft robotics, emerging electronics, as well as 3D/4D printing of multifunctional materials. Dr. Cao is now serving as the Associate Editor for IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), Associate Editor of Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Associate Editor of Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering, and Editorial Board Member for several international journals, including Advanced Electronic Materials, Forces in Mechanics (Elsevier), Sensors, and Micromachines, etc. 

 

​Research Interests

• Soft (active) Materials, Metamaterials, Bioinspired materials, Multifunctional composites, Programmable materials, Smart materials & structures

• Soft robotics, Sensors & actuators, Biomedical & surgical devices, 3D & 4D printing of multifunctional materials and machines

• Printed/Flexible/Stretchable/Wearable/Bio-integrated electronics, Internet of Things (IoTs), Energy harvesting & storage devices, Smart/Precision Agriculture

• Solid mechanics, Biomechanics, Multiscale and multiphysics modeling of advanced multifunctional composites, Fluid-structure-interaction (FSI)

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 Professional Service

• Associate Editor of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) (2020-2024)

• Associate Editor of Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2023-Present)

• Associate Editor of Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering (2022-Present)

• Guest Editor, Special Issue "Soft Robotics", Machines (IF 3.576), 2024. 

• Guest Editor, Special Issue "Soft Sensors for Industrial Processes", Sensors (IF 3.576), 2022. 

• Guest Editor, Special Issue "Mechanics and Manufacturing of Soft Materials and Soft Machines", Forces in Mechanics (Elsevier), 2020-2022. 

• Editorial Board Member for

  • Advanced Electronic Materials (Wiley) (IF: 7.633, 2022-Present)

  • Frontiers in Robotics and AI (Specialty section: Soft Robotics) (IF: 4.330, 2021-Present)

  • Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering (Specialty section: MEMS/NEMS) (IF: 2.448, 2021-Present)

  • Soft Science (2022-Present)

  • Forces in Mechanics (Elsevier) (2020-Present)

  • Micromachines (MDPI) (IF: 2.891, 2020-Present)

• Regular Reviewer for 40+ prestigious journals, including 

  • Science Advances, Science Robotics, Nature Materials, Nature Electronics, Nature Communication, Nature Food.

  • Soft Robotics, Advanced Materials, ACS Nano, Nano Letters, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Electrical Materials, Soft Matter, Small, Advanced Science, Advanced Materials Technologies, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, ACS Energy Letters, Sensors, Micromachines, Advanced Intelligent Systems.

  • Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Extreme Mechanics Letters, Journal of Biomechanics, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, Journal of Composites, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, Journal of Applied Mechanics, Materials & Design, JMPS, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering. 

• Grant Panelist (Reviewer) for

  • NSF SBIR/STTR Program (2024)

  • DOE ARPA-E Program (2024)

  • NASA FINESST Program (2024)

  • NSF FRR Program (2024)

  • NSF FW-HTF Program (2023)

  • US Department of Energy (DOE) (2023) 

  • NSF National Robotics Initiative Program (NRI 3.0) (2021)

  • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) (2021)

  • Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) (2021)

  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (2021)

  • NSF CNS Civic Innovation Challenge Program (2020)

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2020)

  • NSF National Robotics Initiative Program (NRI 2.0) (2020)

  • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2019)

  • Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (2019)

  • Petroleum Research Fund of American Chemical Society (ACS-PRF) (2019)

  • Competitive Research Grants, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia (2019)

  • NSF CMMI-Advanced Manufacturing Program (2018)

  • NSF CMMI-Materials Engineering & Processing Program (2018)

  • Chilean National Science and Technology Commission (2014, 2016)

• President, Electronic Materials Technical Committee, ASME Material Division (2023-2025)

• Vice President, Electronic Materials Technical Committee, ASME Material Division (2021-2023)

• Secretary, Electronic Materials Technical Committee, ASME Material Division (2019-2021)

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Professional Associations

• Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

• Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

• Member, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS)

• Member, Materials Research Society (MRS)

• Member, Society of Engineering Science (SES)