On April 29, 2026, the 19th lecture of the Research Navigation Program hosted by the College of Engineering and Jingyi Academy of Shantou University was held in Classroom E305 of the Sangpu Mountain Campus. Wang Xiaohong, a teacher Party member from the Department of Civil and Smart Construction Engineering, delivered a lecture entitled Empowered by Mechanics, Structures Innovate – New Ideas on Lightweight and Multifunctional Design Behind Porous Structures, guiding students on an exploration journey from classical mechanics to modern metamaterials, and from ancient engineering wisdom to thermal stealth cutting-edge technologies.
Starting from the evolution of mechanics, the lecture reviewed the transition from classical to modern mechanics. Quoting verses such as “Down it cascades three thousand feet”, Wang Xiaohong integrated basic knowledge of gravity and fluid mechanics into literary contexts, vividly presenting the interdisciplinary resonance between mechanics and humanities. Using engineering examples, he analyzed ancient mechanical wisdom embodied in the Zhaozhou Bridge and the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, including strut stability, bending deformation and seismic structures. He also showcased modern achievements such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, China’s high-speed rail, the FAST Telescope and aerospace engineering, demonstrating the leapfrog development of China in mechanics and engineering.
The lecture focused on the multifunctional design and performance research of porous ultra-light materials. Wang Xiaohong elaborated on the regulation mechanisms of mechanical and heat transfer properties of Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures across multiple scales, and revealed the “super magic” of using porous metamaterials to achieve thermal stealth, thermal encoding and thermal illusion. He also shared the application prospects of additive manufacturing (3D printing) in fabricating porous structures, demonstrating how to achieve “on-demand design” of material functions by adjusting porosity, unit cell type and gradient distribution.
From the bracket arches of the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda a thousand years ago to today’s programmable thermal encoding metamaterials; from the waterfall in Li Bai’s poems to the cosmic sounds detected by the FAST Telescope – mechanics has always served as a bridge connecting basic science and engineering applications.
This lecture not only exposed students to new lightweight and multifunctional design ideas behind porous structures, but also showcased the solid achievements made by Chinese scholars in cutting-edge fields such as thermal stealth and thermal encoding. As Wang Xiaohong put it: “The research scope of modern mechanics is broader than ever, as it focuses on exploration, discovery, application and creation.”
Photos and text by Ye Congying
