The recipient of 2017 Lee Hsun Lecture Series—Lee Hsun Young Scientist Award, Dr. Mina Yoon from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), visited Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMR, CAS) from October 15 to 18, 2017.

During the visit, Dr. Yoon delivered a lecture entitled “First-principles modeling to explore new functional low-dimensional materials”. She discussed how localized defects and alloys can play as an unexpected mean to engineer band gap properties. She also demonstrated a new avenue to discover new electrides and provide new design principles, which will significantly boost the discovery of this new class of material with great technical application.

Dr. Yoon has several research cooperation plans with IMR in the field of low dimensional new material, including low dimensional electride.
Dr. Yoon is currently a research scientist in the Nanomaterials Theory Institute, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, ORNL. She is also a Joint Faculty Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK).

The primary focus of her research lies in the fundamental understanding of growth mechanisms, novel properties, functionalization, and potential technological applications of surface-based and low-dimensional materials. Especially, her interest is in utilizing these materials as light, environmentally friendly, and efficient energy storage/generation and optoelectronic application by making use of their unique low-dimensional properties. Her theoretical approach ranges from atomistic modeling by first-principles quantum mechanical approaches and many-body potential approaches, to continuum elasticity theory and phenomenological modeling.

Dr. Yoon is a Referee for several journals like Phys. Rev. Lett., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Phys. Rev. B, Nano Lett. and J. Chem. Phys.. She is also the Session chair of the American Physical Society March meetings five times and Organizer of 7 CECAM Workshops on First Principles Theory and Modeling in Organic Electronics.

Prof. ZHANG Jian, the Deputy Director of IMR presents the plaque of Lee Hsun Lecture Series to Dr. Mina Yoon. (Image by IMR)

Dr. Mina Yoon delivers a lecture. (Image by IMR)