News Archive

We are proud to share that our lab member Shahriar has received the Horn Distinguished Professors Graduate Achievement Award at Texas Tech University. This award recognizes graduate students who have already demonstrated significant research accomplishments in their disciplines and who represent some of the outstanding scholars being cultivated at Texas Tech. This year, only two students across the university were selected for this honor, and Shahriar is the only recipient fr

Our recent work, led by Shahriar Mostufa, titled “ Wet Ball Milling Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for High-Efficiency, Controllable Magnetic Hyperthermia in Ovarian Cancer ,” has been published in Advanced Materials Technologies. In this study, we develop a simple, scalable, and cost-effective mechanochemical (wet ball milling) approach to synthesize iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) for biomedical applications. By systematically tuning milling conditions, we d

We are excited to share that Dr. Kai Wu has received the prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation! Link: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award?AWD_ID=2541981 The NSF CAREER Program is the foundation’s most competitive award for early-career faculty, supporting those who demonstrate strong potential for leadership in both research and education through integrated, high-impact projects. Dr. Wu’s project, “CAREER: FLEX

We are excited to share that three research papers from the Wu Lab were published and a new patent application was filed on the same day, highlighting recent progress in our research on magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic imaging systems, and magnetic sensing technologies. Paper 1 " Computational design of a 3D magnetic particle imaging (MPI) prototype " Led by Shahriar Mostufa, this work presents a finite-element simulation framework for designing a 3D MPI system capable of fi

Congratulations to the authors on their new review article titled " Magnetic Nanoparticles for Cancer Theranostics ", published in Biomedical Physics & Engineering Express, led by former lab member Jaiden Hart (now at the University of Wisconsin–Madison) in collaboration with the laboratories of Dr. Rui He and Dr. Jenifer Gomez-Pastora. We are also proud to recognize the contribution of high school researcher Hansong Zuo. This article reviews recent advances in magnetic nanop

Our lab’s recent paper published in Nanoscale has been selected for the “ Nanoscale 2026 Emerging Investigators ” themed collection, which recognizes outstanding contributions from early-career independent researchers nominated by experts across the global nanoscience community. As part of this honor, Dr. Kai Wu has been recognized by Nanoscale as one of 2026’s rising stars in nanoscience and nanotechnology research. The article, “ Non-traditional granular magnetoresistive de

Research from the Wu Lab, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Minxiang Zeng’s lab, has been featured in Texas Tech Now . The highlighted project focuses on the additive manufacturing of granular magnetoresistive sensors for wearable, continuous cardiac monitoring, combined with AI-enabled classification of abnormal cardiac signals. The feature article can be viewed here: Texas Tech Researchers Hope to Advance Wearable Heart Monitoring Devices This research is currently suppor

The Wu Lab successfully participated in the WCOE 2026 Research Day, showcasing several research advances through poster presentations. Posters from the Wu Lab “A Systematic Framework for Harmonic Set Selection in Multiplexed Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy,” presented by Hanlei. “Scalable Wet Ball Milling of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Efficient and Controllable Magnetic Hyperthermia,” presented by Shahriar. “Shape- and Cation-Engineered Ferrite Nanoparticles for Theranostic

Our new paper, in collaboration with Dr. Minxiang Zeng, titled “ Nontraditional Granular Magnetoresistive Devices: A Short Review ” is published in Nanoscale. In this work, we review the rapid evolution of non-traditional granular magnetoresistive (MR) devices as a promising alternative to conventional thin-film MR sensors. The article highlights how advances in nanoparticle engineering, insulating matrices, and polymeric binders enable cost-effective, scalable, and mechanica

Our lab, in collaboration with Dr. Bożena Kostek's lab from Gdańsk University of Technology (Poland), has published a new paper in IEEE Access. Titled " Visual Perception and Sensory Engagement in ASMR Videos: An Affective Computing Perspective ". This work presents the first computational study of visual triggers in ASMR videos, addressing a major gap in prior ASMR research that focused mainly on audio. Using a multimodal framework combining color dynamics, motion, and 3D fa

Dr. Wu has been appointed as the AIPP-representative Voting Member of the MMM Advisory Committee (AdCom) for a three-year term ending in December 2028. In this role, he will help advance the mission of MMM by supporting and strengthening the magnetism and magnetic materials research community. The AdCom meets virtually on a monthly basis and is responsible for voting on the locations and dates of future MMM and joint meetings, selecting future conference chairs and officers,

We are delighted to announce the recipients of the Fall 2025 BioMed Journal Club Best Presentation Awards! 1st Place – Best Presentation Award: Bushra Rahman 2nd Place – Best Presentation Award: Rodrigo Agustin Hernandez Torres 3rd Place – Best Presentation Award: Bishal Karki Rising Star Award: Voshita Parvathaneni, Isabella Vasquez Launched in Spring 2023, the BioMed Journal Club has now completed six successful seasons. This fall, 12 students, including two undergraduates,

Wrapping up a productive and inspiring week at the 70th Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM 2025) in Palm Beach, Florida! Our team, together with Dr. Jenifer Gomez Pastora’s lab, shared exciting advances in magnetic nanomaterials, separation, and imaging technologies. Grateful to The National Institutes of Health for supporting our research and making this trip possible. Presentations include: AQ-05. Red Blood Cell Magnetic Property Monitoring Using Cel

Congratulations to Shahriar Mostufa, who has been awarded both the TTU Graduate Student Travel Fund and the College of Engineering...

The collaborative paper led by Drs. Rui He and Wencan Jin, titled " Dilute magnetic impurity-induced effective phonon magnetic moment in...

Prof. Wu's WO patent " Magnetic flow cytometry with enhanced multiplicity " was published online. See the patent link: WO2025188838A1 ....

Our project titled “SMART-MNPs: Smart Magnetic Nanoparticles for MRI-guided and Adaptive Cancer Therapy” has been selected as an awardee...

Congratulations to Shahriar for successfully passing his PhD qualifying exam with his proposal titled “Magnetic Nanoparticles for...

Our lab has been awarded a four-year, $588,371 research grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the...

Congratulations to our collaborator, Dr. Jenifer Gomez Pastora, who has been awarded a $587,878 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and...