Xiawa (Eva) Wu, Ph.D.

Xiawa (Eva) Wu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
241 AMIC Building

Mailing Address:
AMIC BUILDING
5350 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE
ERIE PA 16510

My research explores how we can design stronger and more sustainable materials by studying polymers at the molecular level. I focus on natural biopolymers derived from trees and plants such as cellulose and pectin, which are renewable, biodegradable, and biocompatible. Using advanced computer simulations, I investigated how these materials can be engineered to improve strength, stability, and resistance to moisture, properties essential for real-world applications.

Configurational Stability of Pectin with Absorbed Water: a Molecular Dynamics Study, MRS Advances - October 3, 2025
Collaborator: Anamika Prasad, Co-Author

Fundamental Interactions Between Pectin and Cellulose Nanocrystals: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Cellulose - June 18, 2025
Collaborator: Anamika Prasad, Co-Author

A Molecular Dynamics Study of the Effects of Silane and Cellulose Nanocrystals at a Glass Fiber and Epoxy Interphase, Cellulose - September 11, 2024
Collaborators: Ejaz Haque, Primary Author; Kyriaki Kalaitzidou, Co-Author

Hierarchical Multiscale Approach for Modeling the Deformation and Failure of Epoxy-based Polymer Matrix Composites, The Journal of Physical Chemistry B - December 31, 2020
Collaborators: Amin Aramoon, Co-Author; Jaafar El-Awady, Corresponding Author

Multiscale Modeling of Epoxies and Epoxy-based Composites - April 1, 2020
Collaborator: Jaafar El-Awady, Corresponding Author

Evaluation of Reactive Force Fields for Prediction of the Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Cellulose Iβ, Computational Materials Science - November 1, 2015
Collaborators: Fernando Dri, Primary Author; Robert Moon, Co-Author; Ashlie Martini, Co-Author; Pablo Zavattieri, Corresponding Author

Thermal Conductivity in Nanostructured Films: From Single Cellulose Nanocrystals to Bulk Films, Biomacromolecules - November 10, 2014
Collaborators: Jairo Diaz, Primary Author; Zhijiang Ye, Co-Author; Arden Moore, Co-Author; Robert Moon, Co-Author; Ashlie Martini, Co-Author; Dylan Boday, Co-Author; Jeffrey Youngblood, Corresponding Author

Tensile Strength of Iβ Crystalline Cellulose Predicted by Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Cellulose - August 1, 2014
Collaborators: Robert Moon, Co-Author; Ashlie Martini, Corresponding Author

Atomistic Simulation of Frictional Sliding between Cellulose Iβ Nanocrystals, Tribology Letters - December 1, 2013
Collaborators: Robert Moon, Co-Author; Ashlie Martini, Corresponding Author

Atomic Roughness Enhanced Friction on Hydrogenated Graphene, Nanotechnology - August 21, 2013
Collaborators: Yalin Dong, Primary Author; Ashlie Martini, Corresponding Author

Thermal Expansion of Self-organized and Shear-oriented Cellulose Nanocrystal Films, Biomacromolecules - August 12, 2013
Collaborators: Jairo Diaz, Primary Author; Ashlie Martini, Co-Author; Jeffrey Youngblood, Co-Author; Robert Moon, Corresponding Author

Atomistic Simulation of Nanoscale Indentation on Cellulose Nanocrystals - June 1, 2013
Collaborators: Robert Moon, Co-Editor; Ashlie Martini, Corresponding Author

Crystalline Cellulose Elastic Modulus Predicted by Atomistic Models of Uniform Deformation and Nanoscale Indentation, Cellulose - February 1, 2013
Collaborators: Robert Moon, Co-Author; Ashlie Martini, Corresponding Author

Modeling Atomic-scale Indentation of Crystalline Cellulose, TAPPI International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials 2011 - December 1, 2011
Collaborators: Ashlie Martini, Primary Author; Robert Moon, Co-Author

Calculation of Single Chain Cellulose Elasticity Using Fully Atomistic Modeling, Tappi Journal - April 1, 2011
Collaborators: Robert Moon, Co-Author; Ashlie Martini, Corresponding Author

Anisotropic Elasticity of Crystalline Cellulose: Atomistic Modeling & Experiments, International Conference on Nanotechnology for the Forest Products Industry 2010 - December 1, 2010
Collaborators: Ashlie Martini, Primary Author; Ryan Wagner, Co-Author; Arvind Raman, Co-Author; Robert Moon, Co-Author

Elastic Deformation Mechanics of Cellulose Nanocrystals, TMS 2010 - 139th Annual Meeting and Exhibition - Supplemental Proceedings - May 28, 2010
Collaborators: Ryan Wagner, Co-Author; Arvind Raman, Co-Author; Robert Moon, Co-Author; Ashlie Martini, Corresponding Author

Ph D, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University

MS, Physics, The University of Delaware

BS, Economics, Peking University

BS, Physics, Peking University