Weitao Wang

I'm a PhD student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University. I got my bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in July 2017 and a master degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering from University of Notre Dame in June 2019. I'm co-advised by Dr. Rebecca Taylor and Dr. Xi (Charlie) Ren.

Current project

My research interests lie primarily at the interface of DNA nanostructures and cellular membranes. - Optimizing the binding of DNA nanostructures and membranes. - Innovating functional DNA nanostructures that bring new opportunities in challenging biological and biomechanical questions. - Developing techniques in data and image analysis using machine learning, deep learning and computer vision. - All-atom and coarse grained simulations of DNA nanostructures and cellular membrane mechanics.

Previous projects

  • Simulations of the Erythrocyte Membrane Skeleton Using a Spectrin Repeat-based Coarse Grained Model

    • I built a coarse grained model for erythrocyte membrane with spectrin repeats being basic units, bridging the gap between simulations in microscale to marcocale. Wild type model, mutation-related disease models, dynamic process of bond formation and breaking at spectrin self-association sites, which will spontaneously change the structure of the network membrane, were investigated in terms of their influence on membrane mechanical properties.

  • Design and Analysis of a Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester Using Rolling Mechanism

    • We designed a vibration-based piezoelectric energy harvester using rolling mechanism with two metal layers on both sides of PZT units to improve energy efficiency and reduce the impact forces caused by oscillation.

Publications

(1) Wang, W., Arias, D. S., Deserno, M., Ren, X., & Taylor, R. E. (2020). Emerging applications at the interface of DNA nanotechnology and cellular membranes: Perspectives from biology, engineering, and physics. APL bioengineering, 4(4), 041507.

(2) Liu, Y., Wijesekara, P., Kumar, S., Wang, W., Ren, X., & Taylor, R. E. (2021). The effects of overhang placement and multivalency on cell labeling by DNA origami. Nanoscale, 13(14), 6819-6828.

(3) Wijesekara, P., Liu, Y., Wang, W., Johnston, E. K., Sullivan, M. L., Taylor, R. E., & Ren, X. (2021). Accessing and Assessing the Cell-Surface Glycocalyx Using DNA Origami. Nano letters.

(4) Xing, Y., Yerneni, S. S., Wang, W., Taylor, R. E., Campbell, P. G., & Ren, X. (2021). Engineering pro-angiogenic biomaterials via chemoselective extracellular vesicle immobilization. Biomaterials, 121357.

Scholarships and awards

  • National Scholarship at SJTU, China, 2015
  • National Scholarship at SJTU, China, 2014

Contact information

  • weitaowa@andrew.cmu.edu