The goal of our research is to realize high-performance, durable, and cost-effective energy storage and conversion technologies through rational materials design. We use an integrated theoretical and experimental approach through collaborations to define scientific questions and establish fundamental understandings of key challenges in these technologies. We tackle such challenges through rational materials design, novel synthesis approach, and experimental validation. With the unique combination of research capability in organic and inorganic materials, our group has investigated a broad range of materials including two-dimensional materials, inorganic nanostructures, organic crystals, polymers, and organic/inorganic hybrid materials. Current projects include redox-active organic materials, aqueous batteries, solid-state batteries, multivalent ion batteries and others. I encourage you explore our website to lean more about our ongoing research.
EDUCATION VISION
The goal of Ph.D. training is to transform a student to become an independent and creative scholar. We provide training on following areas: basic research skills, critical thinking, problem solving; writing and communication skills; research ethics, leadership, proactive attitude, and teamwork.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
| Yan Yao is Cullen College of Engineering Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Houston. His research group focuses on functional materials for energy conversion and storage. The recent research programs include the design, synthesis, processing, and operando characterizations of organic electrode materials in rechargeable solid-state batteries, polymeric cathode materials for magnesium ion batteries, and long cycle-life aqueous batteries for large scale grid storage. Yan is the author and coauthor of more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, 1 book chapter and 10 U.S. patents. He is a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, and a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics with citations over 20,000. Yan received B.S. and M.S. from Fudan University in 2000 and 2003, Ph.D. from UCLA in 2008, all in Materials Science Engineering. He joined the University of Houston in 2012 as an Assistant Professor after working as a senior scientist at Polyera Corporation and as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. He is a Principal Investigator in the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston. His research has been recognized with Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, Scialog Fellow on Advanced Energy Storage, UH Award for Excellence in Research, and Cullen College of Engineering Professorship. |
Honors & Awards
| 2020 | Fellow of Royal Chemical Society (UK) |
| 2020 | Senior Member of National Academy of Inventors |
| 2020 | Cullen College of Engineering Professorship |
| 2019 | Senior Member of IEEE |
| 2018 | Highly Cited Researchers List (Top 1% by citations) – Clarivate Analytics |
| 2018 | Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship, or Creative Activity at the Associate Professor Level – University of Houston |
| 2018 | Scialog Collaborative Innovation Award – Research Corporation for Science Advancement |
| 2017 | Scialog Fellow on Advanced Energy Storage – Research Corporation |
| 2016 | Junior Faculty Research Excellence Award – University of Houston, Cullen College of Engineering |
| 2016 | Teaching Excellence Award – University of Houston, Cullen College of Engineering |
| 2013 | Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award – U.S. Office of Naval Research |
| 2013 | Principal Investigator – U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy |
| 2012 | TcSUH Welch Foundation Professorship Award – Welch Foundation |
| 2013 | Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award – Oak Ridge Associated Universities |
| 2008 | Excellence in Graduate Polymer Science Research – American Chemical Society |
| 2007 | Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad – China Scholarship Council |
| 2007 | ICI Student Award Finalist in Applied Polymer Science – American Chemical Society |
| 2007 | Dissertation Year Fellowship – UCLA |
| 2000 | Chun-Tsung Scholar – Chun-Tsung Endowment |
| 2000 | Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award – Shanghai Educational Council |
Leadership and Services
| 2018-2019 | Power electronics-Energy storage-Microgrids and Subsea Electrical Consortium (PEMSEC), Co-Director |
| 2019-Present | UH Faculty Senate, Graduate & Professional Studies Committee |
| 2019 | Guest Editor, ChemSusChem, Special Issue on Organic Batteries |
| 2018-present | Academic Editor, PLOS ONE |
| 2017-present | Board Member, Organic Battery Days |
| 2016-present | Electrochemical Society University of Houston Chapter, Faculty Advisor |
| 2015-present | IEEE Nanotechnology Council Houston Chapter, Treasurer |
| 2013-present | Proposal reviewer for DOE Basic Energy Science, DOE Energy Frontier Research Center, DOE SBIT/STTR, ACS Petroleum Research Fund, National Science Foundation, NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship, Kentucky Science & Technology Foundation, Maryland Industrial Partnership, NASA Missouri Space Grant/EPSCoR Programs, European Research Council, China QiuShi Outstanding Young Scholar Award, German-Israeli Battery and Electrochemistry Research Program, Indo-US Science & Technology Forum Center. |
| 2012-present | Journal reviewer for ACS Energy Letters, ACS Nano, ACS Polymer Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Materials, Angewandte Chemie, Chem, Chemistry of Materials, Chemical Review, Chemical Science, Chemical Society Review, Energy Environmental Science, Electrochimica Acta, Energy Storage Materials, JACS, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Joule, Nano Energy, Nano Letters, Nano Research, Nature, Nature Communications, Nature Energy, Nature Materials, PNAS, Science, Science Advances, Scientific Reports, Small, Small methods. |
FUNDING
