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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
