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About

Yanjun Liu is a leading researcher in the field of smart soft materials, with a primary focus on photo-responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) and their applications in soft robotics and biomimetic devices. Her work centers on harnessing light—particularly polarized and circularly polarized light—to drive reversible shape changes in LCE actuators, offering unprecedented control over motion and deformation. Liu’s major contributions include pioneering the use of the photothermal effect to create polarization-dependent LCE actuators (84 citations) and developing circularly polarized light-driven actuators that introduce an additional degree of freedom for precise movement (30 citations). She has also advanced the understanding of alignment strategies and morphing mechanisms in LCEs, as detailed in her comprehensive 2025 review (8 citations). Notably, Liu designed a bio-inspired, untethered automatic light-harvesting system using LCE tubular actuators (6 citations), mimicking natural phototropism for autonomous energy collection. Her innovative work has garnered significant attention, with her most-cited papers accumulating over 128 citations, establishing her as a key figure in the development of next-generation adaptive materials for soft robotics and smart devices.