I am interested in non-equilibrium mechanics and collective behaviors in biological systems and soft matters. The understanding of rigidity transition in amorphous biological tissues is my main focus. Both theoretical and numerical simulations are used in studying various biological and non-biological systems. 

Focusing on the following areas: 

• Materials with complete photonic bandgaps based on Self-propelled Voronoi model; 

• Cancer cell variability promotes the rigidity of tumors and controls cancer metastasis; 

• Mechanical metamaterials with acoustic bandgaps inspired by biological tissues;

• Topological features like chiral edge modes in amorphous structures.

• Cell division dynamics under confinement.

Phone: +1 (617) 818-1136

Email: xinzhili@andrew.cmu.edu

Address: Department of Physics, WEH 6315,  Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213