About
Zhaoxu Meng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Principal Investigator of the Computational Modeling and Design Lab. His research focuses on multiscale modeling and mechanics of biopolymers, nanocomposites, and composites, the design and characterization of bioinspired structural materials, and the structure-function relationships of tissue interfaces. He was honored with the 2023 New Innovator in Food and Agriculture Award by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. He currently serves as a Research Project Lead in SC-TRIMH, an NIH COBRE funded by NIH/NIGMS (P20GM121342) at Clemson University. His group has fostered strong collaborations with health researchers across Clemson University and clinicians, surgeons, and physicians from Prisma Health and MUSC to advance biomedical and bioengineering research. Dr. Meng's mentorship has led to significant student achievements, including recipients of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) and the NASA SC Space Grant Consortium GRF, as well as departmental student awards in Mechanical Engineering.
Visit Dr. Meng's Faculty Profile.
How their research is transforming health care
The research conducted by Meng’s group leverages quantitative and engineering tools to establish a new paradigm in pathomechanics and the treatment of soft tissue-bone interfaces. Through advanced experimental and computational engineering approaches, developed in close collaboration with health researchers and clinical physicians, the group seeks to unravel the complex structure-function relationships of these interfaces, investigate the underlying cross-scale mechanisms, and assess the impact of various risk factors on their integrity. By gaining fundamental insights into these processes, Meng’s research aims to drive translational strategies that mitigate soft tissue and interface damage through preventive interventions while fostering the development of innovative treatment solutions for enhanced healing and regeneration of soft tissue-bone interfaces.
Health research keywords
Computational mechanics of nanocomposites, mechanics of fibrous network, multiscale modeling, biomimetic materials, tissue interfaces, musculoskeletal disease.
