The international society of optics and photonics, SPIE, has selected Qibing Pei, a professor of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, as the recipient of its 2023 Smart Structures and Materials Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contributions to the field.
Pei, who also has a faculty appointment in mechanical and aerospace engineering, has authored more than 220 peer-reviewed publications and holds 45 U.S. patents. At UCLA, he directs the Soft Materials Research Laboratory, which specializes in research pertaining to artificial muscles, flexible electronics, nanostructured materials and the synthesis of conjugated polymers. His research, recently published in Science, unveiled the development of a new material and manufacturing process for synthetic muscles, which are stronger and more flexible than biological ones.
A fellow of SPIE, Pei is also an advisory or editorial board member of Smart Materials & Structures, Soft Robotics, Advanced Electronic Materials and Scientific Reports.