Teng Cui

Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering

Research interests: nanomechanics, solid-state batteries, 2D materials, energy materials, fracture and fatigue, multiphysics coupling

Biography

Dr. Teng Cui is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, and the director of the Extreme Mechanics and Energy Materials Lab - (EM)² Lab. His research group aims to fundamentally understand how materials fail across length and time scales under extreme conditions, and to design reliable materials and devices for energy and sustainability applications.

Dr. Cui was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, where he investigated the failure mechanisms of solid-state batteries under fast-charging conditions using advanced in situ and operando techniques. His work revealed the intricate coupling between mechanics and electrochemistry and demonstrated how mechanics can be leveraged to address key challenges in next-generation batteries. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, where he focused on nanomechanical failure of two-dimensional (2D) materials. In particular, he developed an atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based technique that enabled the first experimental fatigue study of 2D materials. He also completed his M.A.Sc. at the University of Toronto, studying the mechanical aging of thermoset polymers, and received his B.Eng. in Engineering Mechanics from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Education

  • PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto, 2020

  • MASc, Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto, 2016

  • BEng, Engineering Mechanics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2014

teng cui headshot

Research

The Extreme Mechanics and Energy Materials Lab - (EM)² Lab investigates how energy and functional materials fail across a wide range of length scales (from atomic to meter scale) and time scales (from nanoseconds to years) under mechanical, chemical, electrical, thermal or coupled driving forces. By leveraging the fundamental insights into the failure mechanisms, the group aims to design reliable materials and devices for energy and sustainability applications.

Current research interests include:

  1. Nanomechanical characterization under extreme and coupled conditions
  2. Development of reliable, fast-charging solid-state batteries
  3. Design of energy-efficient materials, including lightweight nanocomposites, and solid lubricants.

Publications

Selected publications

  1. T. Cui†, S. Wang†, S. Lee, E. Barks, J. Cattermull, C. Melamed, Z. Jiang, L. Narun, Y-K, Tzeng, S.H. Kim, X. Xu, G. McConohy, P. Wallace, A.C. Lee, X. Cui, J-H Lee, W.C. Chueh, X.W. Gu, Dendrite initiation and deflection in biaxially compressed solid electrolytes, ChemRxiv, DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-33sl7 (2025)
  1. T. Cui†, S. Mukherjee†, P.M. Sudeep, G. Colas, F. Najafi, J. Tam, P.M. Ajayan, C.V. Singh, Y. Sun and T. Filleter, Fatigue of Graphene, Nature Materials, 19 (2020) 405-411.
  1. G. McConohy†, X. Xu†, T. Cui†, E. Barks, S. Wang, E. Kaeli, C. Melamed, X.W. Gu, W.C. Chueh, Mechanical regulation of lithium intrusion probability in garnet solid electrolytes, Nature Energy, 8 (2023) 241–250.
  1. T. Cui, K. Yip, A. Hassan, G. Wang, X. Liu, Y. Sun, T. Filleter, Graphene fatigue through van der Waals interactions, Science Advances, 6 (2020) eabb1335.
  1. T. Cui†, S. Mukherjee†, M. Onodera, G. Wang, B. Kumral, A. Islam, M. Shayegannia, G. Krishnan, N. Barri, P. Serles, X. Zhang, L. Sassi, J. Tam, N. Bassim, N.P. Kherani, P.M. Ajayan, T. Machida, C.V. Singh, Y. Sun, T. Filleter, Mechanical reliability of monolayer MoS2 and WSe2, Matter, 5 (2022) 2975-2989.

Please see for a full list of his peer-reviewed articles.

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