We focus on designing and tailoring exotic properties in materials and metamaterials across length scales, from the nanoscale to the macroscale. Our research integrates theoretical modelling, computational methods (density functional theory, molecular dynamics, and finite element analysis), and experimental techniques to advance sustainable structural and energy applications. 

Latest News

• 11/2025: Two fully funded PhD positions are now available in our lab.

• 11/2025: Congratulations to Dr Aleksandr Voronin (a PhD student at KAUST co-supervised by Dr Tam Ho), who has successfully defended his PhD (Thesis title: Carbon Honeycomb Membranes for Reverse Osmosis Water Desalination)

• 09/2025: Congratulations to Dr Arun Jangir (a PhD student at KAUST co-supervised by Dr Tam Ho), who has successfully defended his PhD (Thesis title: Electromechanical Coupling in Two-Dimensional Materials).

• 08/2025: New publication: “Shape Memory Graphene with Ultrahigh Specific Energy Dissipation” in Advanced Science.

• 08/2025: Dr Tam Ho has been promoted to Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer) of Mechanical Engineering.

Current Research Interests

• Shape memory metamaterials

• Energy storage materials

• Nano-architected materials

• Low-dimensional materials

Selected Publications

D. T. Ho*, U. Schwingenschlögl*, Shape Memory Graphene with Ultrahigh Specific Energy Dissipation, Advanced Science 12, e08910, 2025. [link]

A. Jangir, D. T. Ho, U. Schwingenschlögl, Control of the Phase Distribution in TMDs by Strain Engineering and Kirigami Techniques, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 16, 811-817 (2025) [link] 

C. T. Nguyen, D. T. Ho, S. Y. Kim, Calculation of Melting Temperature Using Nonequilibrium Thermodynamic Integration Methods, Advanced Theory and Simulations 7, 2300588 (2024) [link] 

D. T. Ho, T. P. N. Nguyen, A. Jangir, U. Schwingenschlögl, Graphene foam membranes with tunable pore size for next-generation reverse osmosis water desalination, Nanoscale Horizons 8, 1082-1089 (2023). [link] 

D. T. Ho, H. S. Park, S. Y. Kim, and  U. Schwingenschlögl, Graphene origami with highly tunable coefficient of thermal expansion, ACS Nano  14, 8969–8974 (2020). [link] 

D. T. Ho, V. H. Ho, V. Babar, S. Y. Kim, and  U. Schwingenschlögl, Complex three-dimensional graphene structures driven by surface functionalization, Nanoscale 12, 10172-10179 (2020). [link]  

D. T. Ho, S.-Y. Kwon, H. S. Park, and S. Y. Kim, Metal nanoplate: Smaller is weaker due to failure by elastic instability, Physical Review B 96, 184103 (2017). [link] 

D. T. Ho, H. S. Park, S.-Y. Kwon, and S. Y. Kim, Negative thermal expansion of ultra-thin metal nanowires: A Computational Study, Nano Letters 17, 5113-5118 (2017). [link] 

D. T. Ho, S.-D. Park, S.-Y. Kwon, K.-B. Park and S. Y. Kim, Negative Poisson’s ratio in metal nanoplates, Nature Communications 5, 3255 (2014). [link]