Dr. Nan Wu, P.Eng.

Area

Solid mechanics, Mechanical vibration, Smart materials and structures, Signal processing, Meta-materials design, Load path analysis.

Expertise

Wireless condition monitoring, High sensitive damage detection, Energy harvesting, Structural enhancement

Dr. Nan Wu obtained his B.Eng and M.Sc from Northeastern University China in 2005 and 2008, respectively, and received his Ph.D. degree in 2012 from the University of Manitoba. Currently, Dr. Nan Wu is working as a full Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering – at the University of Manitoba with teaching and research interests in the fields of Mechanical Vibration, Smart Materials, Metamaterials, Nano-technology, and their applications to Condition Monitoring, Structural Enhancement, and Energy Harvesting.

Dr. Wu has published more than 120 journal papers in high-quality international journals, such as the International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, International Journal of Engineering Science, Smart Materials and Structures, Materials and Design, Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, and Composites Part B. He has 3 US patents in the fields of energy harvesting and structural health monitoring and enhancement by using piezoelectric materials. Some of his major research include the development of a comprehensive theoretical model platform for anisotropic smart composite shells dynamic studies, the invention and dynamics analysis of multiple piezoelectric energy devices, the invention and application of nano-piezoelectric composite paint for sensing and crack detection and proposing new mechanics analysis tools for composite materials and lattice structures design and optimization. 

Including Acta Mechanica Sinica, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, Composite Part B: Engineering, and Journal of Applied and Computational Mechanics, Dr. Wu has served as editor, associate editor, and on the editorial boards of 6 high-quality international journals. He is a also reviewer for more than 60 high-quality international journals.

Recent Journal Papers: (†: student or advisee under my supervision, *: corresponding author(s))

X. Wang, X. Liang, N. Wu, An Improved Boussinesq Pressure Bulb Model for Analytical Load Assessment of Cylindrical Rolling Element Bearings, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, Accepted, 2026. doi: 10.1109/TII.2026.3735735. (IF: 9.8)

R. Hamzehei, N. Wu, Zigzag-extrusion metamaterials for enhanced in-plane/out-of-plane energy absorption, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, accepted, 2026,  10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2026.112042. (IF: 11.4)

Y. Xiao, B. Xie, Y. Chen, H. Liu, X. Chen, Nan Wu, Modeling and dynamic analysis of a magnet-coupled piezoelectric beam under friction, Nonlinear Dynamics, Vol. 114, 805, 2026. (IF: 5.7)

X. Wang, X. Liang, N. Wu, A Neural Network-Assisted Boussinesq Pressure Bulb Model for Load Assessment of Cylindrical Rolling Element Bearings, Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, Vol.243, 113655, 2025. (IF: 10.2)

R. Hamzehei, M. Alaei Varnosfaderani, M. Bodaghi, N. Wu, 3D-printed Multi-functional Sinusoidal Metamaterials for Simultaneous Vibration Isolation and Electricity Generation, Engineering Structures, Vol. 345, 121496, 2025. (IF: 7.6)

S. Cui, J. Si, Y. Yan, J. Guan, N. Wu, Intelligent assessment of rock structure degradation based on entropy features of piezoelectric signals and their algorithm-optimized fusion, Structural Health Monitoring, Accepted, doi.org/10.1177/14759217251352467, 2025. (IF: 7.1)

R. Hamzehei, M. Bodaghi, N. Wu, Design and 4D Printing of Multi-stiffness Wavy Metamaterial Energy Absorbers/Dissipators with Shape Recovery Features, Engineering Structures, 327, 119538, Feature Article and Best Paper 2025. (IF: 7.6)