She brings together civil engineering, materials engineering and electrical engineering with the focus on the discovery of functional nanomaterials with tunable properties (mechanical, electrical, thermal, and optical). By exploring novel materials’ properties, Prof. Lu has made many important original contributions to a broad range of scientific discovery and technology innovations, including thermoelectric nanomaterials for waste heat recovery, piezoelectric nanomaterials for energy harvesting and sensing, multifunctional building and construction materials, and non-destructive testing methods for civil infrastructure. Prof. Lu is the founder and director of SMARTLab at Purdue University, and the co-founder and Chief Scientist of CetoTech Inc.