Dong Lab is working on the computational design, advanced fabrication, and intelligent control of novel functional materials, mechanisms, devices, and robots at small scales with an overall size less than one centimeter. The research activities in Dong Lab related to nano-scale science and engineering focus on the synthesis, programming, and integration of novel materials for actuation and sensing, with representative materials including elastomers, polymers, super-elastic alloys, meta-materials, magnetic materials, and other stimuli-responsive materials. The research goal is to design and fabricate novel medical devices with nano- and micro-scale resolution, as well as integrated stimuli-responsive properties for the actuation and sensing function in minimally invasive small-scale medical devices. The potential applications of the research include micro-surgery, minimally invasive targeted drug delivery, in-vivo sensing physiological properties of tissues, mechanobiology, and smart implantable medical devices.