PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Yan Yao is an internationally recognized leader in the field of electrochemical energy storage, particularly known for his pioneering work on battery chemistries beyond lithium-ion. His research focuses on the intersection of electrochemistry and materials science. He specialize in multivalent, solid-state and aqueous batteries designed to improve safety and reduce environmental impact. Dr. Yao serves as the Thrust Co-Lead in DOE’s Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA) as well as Principal Investigator for several flagship battery programs, including the Battery500 Consortium, the Low-cost Earth-abundant Na-ion Storage (LENS) Consortium, Vehicle Technology Office’s Battery Materials Research program, and three ARPA-E projects. Dr. Yao authored over 150 research papers and has received numerous awards, including the 2025 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering from TAMEST, Texas Academic Leadership Academy Fellow (2023), Senior Faculty Research Excellence Award from the University of Houston (2022), Highly Cited Researchers list by Clarivate Analytics (2021), Scialog Fellow on Advanced Energy Storage (2017), and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (2013). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a senior member of both the National Academy of Inventors and the IEEE. He holds 12 issued U.S. patents and has co-founded two start-ups.



Honors & Awards

2025 2025 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering – TAMEST
2024 Thrust Co-Lead of Energy Storage Research Alliance – DOE Basic Energy Science
2024 Principal Investigator of Low-cost Earth-abundant Na-ion Storage (LENS) Consortium – DOE Vehicle Technology Office
2024 Career Innovator Award – Cullen College of Engineering
2024 Fellow of IAAM
2024 Invited Speaker of 2024 Batteries Gordon Research Conference
2023 Texas Academic Leadership Academy Fellow
2022 Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor – University of Houston
2022 Senior Level Research Excellence Award – Cullen College of Engineering
2021 Excellent Paper of the Year – International Magnesium Society
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−present Co-Director of Power electronics-Energy storage-Microgrids and Subsea Electrical Consortium (PEMSEC)
2020-present Editorial Board Member of eScience
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
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