CUI, Zequn

Dr. Cui received his Ph.D degree in December 2016 from the Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM) at Soochow University, under the supervision of Professor Lifeng Chi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He conducted postdoctoral research from May 2017 to July 2024 at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, under the supervision of Professor Xiaodong Chen, Editor-in-Chief of ACS Nano. In August 2024, he joined the Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials at Soochow University.

Cui Zequn has long dedicated himself to research on flexible tactile sensors. He holds an interdisciplinary academic background spanning mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, materials science and chemistry, alongside cross-disciplinary research expertise in nanoscale characterization, flexible electronic devices and engineering equipment development.

He is the inventor of two PCT patents and one granted US patent, and has published more than 30 papers in top international academic journals, including Nature Electronics, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, ACS Nano and Applied Physics Letters. He serves as a Guest Editor for Soft Science and a Young Editorial Board Member of international journals such as Soft Science and BMEMat, and is a recipient of the Third Prize of the Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Award. He has been invited to participate in the formulation of relevant industry standards in the field of embodied intelligence.

In May 2026, he was appointed Executive Dean of the Soochow University-Uniconn Technology Joint Research Institute for Flexible Interfaces and Intelligent Sensing. In this role, he oversees the overall layout of research projects and planning of research agendas for the institute, and leads the industrial translation of electronic skin technologies as well as industry-university-research collaborative innovation initiatives.

Bionic Flexible Tactile Sensors and Systems for Embodied Intelligence

Embodied intelligence is identified as a priority strategic emerging industry in the national 15th Five-Year Plan Outline. Electronic skin is universally recognized as the core sensing technology for embodied intelligence across the industry. Advancing electronic skin technologies constitutes a vital measure to implement national strategic arrangements and seize the commanding heights of global technological competition in the future. Centered on the industrial translation demands of electronic skin technologies, our team targets and tackles fundamental scientific issues, key application technologies and engineering bottlenecks in the field.

Our research group sincerely welcomes students with genuine passion for scientific research and an inquisitive mindset to apply for admission. We embrace applicants with diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Students majoring in physics, chemistry, materials science, mechanical engineering, electronic information, computer science and other related disciplines can all identify suitable research entry points and clear career development pathways aligned with their expertise within this field.

Email: zqcui@suda.edu.cn
199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu Province, China