Rong-Guang Xu

I am a Visiting Research Professor at Morgan State University, following my appointment as a Research Fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Both positions are jointly supported by the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). I earned my Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from The George Washington University and later worked there as a postdoctoral scientist and independent lecturer. I also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at West Virginia University.

My research focuses on multiscale computational materials science and (bio)mechanics, especially the behavior of surfaces and interfaces across different materials. I study nanotribology, nanoscale heat transfer, and mechano-medicine in systems ranging from solid-solid and solid-liquid interfaces to cell-adhesion molecules on cell surfaces. This work supports applications in nanotechnology and biotechnology, energy systems, clean water, vascular mechanobiology, and bioinspired design. My studies have opened new avenues for investigating these problems and motivated important follow-up work. I have published about 40 journal papers, including articles in PNAS, Nature Communications, Nano Energy, Journal of Membrane Science, Langmuir, Journal of Chemical Physics, and Journal of Applied Physics.