Professor

Location

2927 Cooley

Websites

Z Lab

Education

• Ph.D., Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2010
• B.S., Electrical Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), 2004

Research Interests

YZ’s research can be summarized into two words: Matter and Machine. On the basic science side, his group synergistically combines and pushes the boundaries of accelerated molecular simulations, statistical and stochastic thermodynamic theories, and neutron scattering experiments, with the goal of significantly extending our understanding of a wide range of long timescale phenomena, rare events, and far-from-equilibrium properties of materials from the atomic and molecular level. Particular emphasis is given to the physics and chemistry of liquids and complex fluids, especially at interfaces, driven away from equilibrium, or under extreme conditions. On the applied research side, leveraging their expertise in materials and modeling, his group advances the development of swarm robots and collective intelligence, robots in extreme environments, soft robots and human-compatible machines, and understandable artificial intelligence, which can lead to immediate societal impact.

• Matter
  • Far-from-equilibrium physics, long timescale phenomena, and rare events (accelerated molecular simulations, statistical and stochastic thermodynamic theories)
  • Physics and chemistry of liquids and complex fluids, especially under interfacial/non-equilibrium/extreme conditions (water, metallic liquids, molten salts, ionic liquids, electrolyte solutions)
  • Neutron scattering, sources, and instrumentation
• Machine
  • Swarm robots and collective intelligence
  • Robots in extreme environments
  • Soft robots and human-compatible machines
  • Understandable artificial intelligence

Professional Service

• 2012 – 2022, Assistant Professor (2012 – 2018), Associate Professor (2018 – 2022), Associate Head for Graduate Programs (2020 – 2022), Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar (2020 – 2022), Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer and Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Program of Computational Science and Engineering, Illinois Robotics Group, Center for Autonomy, Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 2019 – 2020, Visiting Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• 2010 – 2012, Clifford G. Shull Fellow, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Awards

• 2017, Landis Young Member Engineering Achievement Award, American Nuclear Society
• 2010, Clifford G. Shull Fellowship, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• 2008, Manson Benedict Award, Massachusetts Institute of Technology