Dr. Zian Jia is the PI of the Biomechanics and Bioinspired Research Lab at SUSTech. Dr. Jia earned his Ph.D. from Stony Brook University and subsequently conducted his postdoctoral research at Virginia Tech, Princeton University and University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Jia has also served as a Research Scientist at Corning Incorporated in 2022-2023. 

He has authored over 30 research papers in journals such as Science, PNAS, Advanced Materials, JMPS, and Nature Communications, with over 2,900 citations. His work has been featured in educational and documentary programs, and highlighted by media and institutions including Nature, the American Ceramics Society, NSF Research News, and The Science Times, with some findings transferred to industrial R&D.

“Inspired by nature, guided by science, engineered for the future.” The Jia Lab studies the mechanics, multifunctionality, growth, and evolution of biological materials – these fundamental insights are further leveraged to develop bioinspired materials, advanced manufacturing methods, and novel algorithms that address challenges in engineering and design.

We are especially interested in how a material's multiscale structure—from atomic bonding to microstructure—orchestrates its macroscopic properties and time-dependent behavior. By decoding these structure-property relationships across spatial and temporal scales, we learn to design materials with tailored performance, drawing inspiration from organisms in nature.

https://jiazian1989.wixsite.com/mysite

2024 – 2025  University of Pennsylvania  Postdoc  

2023 – 2025  Princeton University  Postdoc      

2022 – 2023  Corning Incorporated  Research Scientist  

2019 – 2022 Virginia Tech   Postdoc

2014 – 2019  State University of New York at Stony Brook   Ph.D.                                                                          

2011 – 2014  Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences   M.S

2007 – 2011  Huazhong University of Science and Technology  Ocean Engineering  B.S.

Mechanics of materials, bioinspired design, AI for autonomous materials design, multifunctional metamaterials

1. J. Qi^, Z. Jia^, M. Liu, W. Zhan, J. Zhang, X. Wen, J. Gan, J. Chen, Q. Liu, D. Ma, B. Li, H. Wang, M. Chen, D. Zhou, L. Li, W. Wang, and L. Huang, METASCIENTIST: A Human-AI Synergistic Framework for Automated Mechanical Metamaterial Design, 2025 NAACL, System Demonstration Track. 

2. Z. Jia, Z. Deng and L. Li*, Architected microlattices for structural and functional applications: Lessons from nature. Matter, 6, 4: 1082-1095 (2023). Invited Perspective

3. Z. Jia, Z. Deng, and L. Li*, Biomineralized Materials as Model Systems for Structural Composites: 3D Architecture. Advanced Materials, 2106259 (2022).

4. T. Yang^, H. Chen^, Z. Jia, Z. Deng, L. Chen, E. Peterman, J. Weaver and L. Li*, A damage-tolerant, dual-scale, single-crystalline microlattice in the knobby starfish, Protoreaster nodosus. Science, 375, 647 (2022). Cover

5. Z. Jia, M. Fernandes, Z. Deng, T. Yang, Q. Zhang, A. Lethbridge, J. Yin, J. Lee, L. Han, J. Weaver, K. Bertoldi, J. Aizenberg, M. Kolle, P. Vukusic and L. Li*. Microstructural design for mechanical–optical multifunctionality in the exoskeleton of the flower beetle Torynorrhina flammea. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118, 25 (2021) 

6. Z. Jia, F. Liu, X. Jiang and L. Wang*, Engineering lattice metamaterials for extreme property, programmability, and multifunctionality. Journal of Applied Physics,127, 15: 150901 (2020) Invited perspective, Featured article, 2021 most downloaded perspectives of the Journal.

7. T. Yang^, Z. Jia^, H. Chen, Z. Deng, W. Liu, L. Chen and L. Li*, Mechanical design of the highly porous cuttlebone: A bioceramic hard buoyancy tank for cuttlefish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, 38: 23450-23459 (2020). In this issue highlights of the journal.

8. Z. Jia and L. Wang*, Instability-triggered triply negative mechanical metamaterial. Physical Review Applied, 12, 2 (2019): 024040

9. Z. Jia, Y. Yu, S. Hou, and L. Wang*, “Biomimetic Architected Materials with Improved Dynamic Performance”, Journal of Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 125, 178-197 (2019) Z. Jia and L. Wang*, “3D Printing of Biomimetic Composites with Improved Fracture Toughness”, Acta Materialia, 173: 61-73 (2019)

10. Z. Jia, T. Li, F. Chiang, and L. Wang*, “An Experimental Investigation of the Temperature Effect on the Mechanics of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers”, Composites Science and Technology, 154, 53 63 (2018)