Dr Chenying Liu

B.Eng. in Automation (Mechatronics), Beihang University (2019); D.Phil. in Engineering Science, University of Oxford (2024)

I am an engineer by training, with a B.Eng. in Automation (Mechatronics) from Beihang University, China, where I graduated top of my class, and a D.Phil. in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford. My undergraduate studies provided broad training in mechanical and electrical engineering, while my D.Phil. research allowed me to specialise in origami engineering and robotics.

My doctoral research focused on modern structures inspired by origami (paper folding). In particular, I examined unconventional foldable structures beyond paper—such as plastics, wood, and even metals—commonly known as thick-panel origami, and explored how their unique mechanical properties can enable intelligent robotic behaviours, including in-hand manipulation and reconfiguration. This work introduced a new class of non-paper origami structures and demonstrated their applications in soft robotics, with promising potential for agricultural harvesting, waste management (including hazardous material handling), and disaster search-and-rescue tasks. It has been recognised nationally and internationally, and I received major accolades such as an Award Lectureship at the 2024 British Science Festival and selection for the 2024 Prototype for Humanity exhibition (top 100 out of 2,700+ global submissions).

Following my D.Phil., I spent just over a year as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Oxford, extending my research into industry-focused projects in sports technology—developing energy-absorbing materials for safer helmets in collaboration with the Podium Institute—and in ocean renewable energy, where I contributed to the development of dielectric fluid generators for wave energy harvesting with Supergen ORE Hub and Wave Energy Scotland. These projects strengthened my expertise in cross-sector collaboration and provided valuable insights into practical engineering challenges.

I first joined Christ Church as a Stipendiary Lecturer in Engineering in 2022, and took up a Junior Research Fellowship in 2025 to expand my research programme. 

I have taught Structures and Mechanics at Christ Church since 2022. Previously, I was a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the same subject at New College and also worked as a demonstrator in electronics and 3D printing laboratories. I hold an Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

I am also passionate about outreach and public engagement. In 2022, I joined the first cohort of Oxford Sparks Ambassadors, a programme aimed at enhancing the University’s digital science communication. As part of this initiative, I featured in a publicly accessible video where I explain my early research on origami, robotics, and 3D printing: https://www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/videos/origami-inspiration-3d-printing-and-robots. In 2024, I received the Josh Award, a national prize for excellence in science communication.

I am fascinated by the principles that govern how structures move, adapt, and respond to their environment. My research seeks to uncover these underlying physical and scientific foundations—how materials, geometry, and mechanics interact—and to transform this knowledge into practical applications. I use my training in mechanical and electrical engineering as tools to turn these principles into reality, creating systems that are not only functional but inherently intelligent through their structures.

My vision is to develop adaptive structures that seamlessly integrate into the environment around us, enabling innovations in robotics, healthcare, sustainability, and beyond. Ultimately, I aim to pioneer new ways of embedding intelligence into physical design so that structures themselves, rather than relying solely on complex control algorithms, empower robots to perform sophisticated tasks. In the future, I hope these technologies will become an invisible yet essential part of our living environments, reshaping the way we build, interact, and care for one another.

See a comprehensive list of publications on Google Scholar.

Swimming, yoga and dancing