Associate Professor, Ph.D. (University of Toronto)
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Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Institute of Digital Medicine
City University of Hong Kong
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Co-Principal Investigator
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Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro-Cardiovascular Health Engineering
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Background & Appointments
Prof. Derek Ho is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Institute of Digital Medicine at City University of Hong Kong. He also serves as a co-principal investigator at the Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro-Cardiovascular Health Engineering, focusing on the translation of soft sensory materials into wearable medical electronics. In 2022-2023, he was cross-appointed as a visiting professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
Prof. Ho received his B.A.Sc. (First-Class Honours) and M.A.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2013. His doctoral research focused on integrating stimuli-responsive materials with microsystems for bioanalysis.
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Journey to Piezoionics
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In the 2010s, I noticed a strong trend toward truly stretchable sensors. The available stimulus-responsive materials were predominantly rigid, and attempts to incorporate them into soft polymer frameworks led to performance and reliability trade-offs. There appeared to be no active transduction mechanism native to soft matter itself.
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The COVID-19 lab closures provided an unexpected opportunity for deep reflection and literature exploration. During this period, I stumbled on the 2000 paper by Nobel laureate P. G. de Gennes on mechanoelectric effects in ionic gels. This was the precise, fundamental mechanism I had been seeking—a force-induced ionic phenomenon intrinsic to soft, hydrated materials. This moment solidified our lab’s resolve to pursue piezoionics.
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Fortunately, our group's prior work had laid essential groundwork. We had extensive experience in soft sensor development and in electrochemical energy storage using polymer electrolytes. This gave us deep experience in both transduction mechanisms and ionic conductive materials, which are the twin pillars of researching piezoionics.
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Notably, piezoionics addresses two of society's grand challenges: healthcare and sustainable energy. It enables research that spans from scientific fundamentals to practical applications—a scope that aligns with my emphasis on bridging novel concepts and meaningful applications.
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For More Information
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Academic Genealogy (PDF)
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Interview with Materials Horizons, Emerging Investigator Series (DOI) (PDF)
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