Soft Materials & Interfaces Lab

Living things, such as microscopic organisms, provide prototypical examples of sustainable functionalities in complex systems, including the ability to sense, move, organize, reconfigure, and self-heal. 

Inspired by such biological solutions, Kang Research Lab has a broad interest in utilizing responsive soft materials, surfaces, and interfaces to design smart functions for next-generation synthetic materials in energy, environmental, and biomedical applications. Our work is highly collaborative and multidisciplinary, combining expertise in mechanics, materials science, and engineering.

We are looking for highly motivated both undergraduate and graduate student researchers. If you are interested in joining us, please feel free to contact Dr. Kang for available opportunities. 

• Apr 2025 - A Chem-E-Car team from the CSULB AIChE Chapter earned 1st place in both the Poster Presentation and Vehicle Performance categories at the 2025 AIChE Western Regional Student Conference. Congratulations to our outstanding students!

• Apr 2025 - Lien Thai was awarded 2nd place in the Student Technical Presentation Competition at the 2025 AIChE Western Regional Student Conference.

• Feb 2023 - Camille joined as a master student in our lab, welcome aboard!

• Oct 2022 - Welcome Tina and Gabriela admitted to the UROP program for AY 2022-2023

• Aug 2022 - Our paper on robust folding of elastic origami is published online in Soft Matter!

• July 2022 - Dr. Kang will serve as a treasurer/secretary for 2022-2023 year in KSEA-SC Chapter.

• May 2022 - Welcome Diego as a new undergraduate researcher to the Lab. 

• March 2022 - Our paper for high-resolution 3D printing is published online in JACS!

• Feb 2022 - Welcome Dane as a new undergraduate research to the Lab.

• Jan 2022 - Dr. Kang received the BUILD Mid-Size Equipment Award for a high-speed imaging system.

• Aug 2021 - Zarlasht joined as a master student in our lab, welcome!

• March 2021 - Our paper on photothermal particles in Marangoni optical traps is just accepted in PNAS!