Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Education
- 2018, Doctoral Degree, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- 2012, Bachelor's Degree, National Taiwan University
Biography
Yu-Tsun Shao received his B.S. in Physics at National Taiwan University in 2012, a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018, and did postdoctoral work at Cornell University. He joined USC as an Assistant Professor in Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science in 2023. He is the recipient of the Robert P. Apkarian Postdoctoral Scholar Award (2021) and Presidential Student Award (2016) of the Microscopy Society of America, and the Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship Award of the International Centre for Diffraction Data (2016).
Research Summary
Research in the Shao electron microscopy group develops and applies novel electron microscopy techniques to understand materials and devices at the atomic scale. Using the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), we are able to explore structural, chemical, electronic, and topological phases in materials at the atomic scale.
Our current research focuses on understanding the interplay between spin, lattice, polarization, and charge in quantum materials. Specifically, we develop and apply 4D-STEM to study multiferroic crystals with the aim to elucidate the microscopic origin of interactions among local polar/magnetic order, strain, and chiralities during topological phase transitions.
Awards
- 2024 DOE Early Career Award
- 2021 Microscopy Society of America Robert P. Apkarian Memorial Postdoctoral Scholar Award
- 2018 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Racheff-Intel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research
- 2018 International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD) Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship Award
- 2016 Microscopy Society of America Presidential Student Scholar Award
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