Jiawei Yang is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at WPI. He received a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Sciences from Harvard University and completed postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined WPI in 2024. 

We study, design, and assemble polymers across multiple length scales to develop functional materials and systems with integrated emergent properties. We explore molecular engineering, polymer architecture, network structure and topology, as well as chemistries for strong and weak interactions to encode materials with rich and controllable behaviors to adapt, interact with, and respond to the environment. We also build theoretical models to investigate the mechanics and physics of materials to gain new principles to guide the design, control, and performance, and obtain the synthesis-property-performance relationships. We are particularly interested in understanding how nano- and micro-scale molecular/supramolecular processes link and dictate macroscopic material properties and behaviors, and use the understanding to advance new material development and meaningfully enhance the performance of existing materials. Our long-term goal is to leverage multiscale material design, synthesis strategies, chemical and polymer principles, and soft materials physics and mechanics to innovate materials and devices for health and sustainability.