Professor Shao-Horn Yang
W.M. Keck Professor of Energy, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Prof Yang Shao-Horn is W.M. Keck Professor of Energy, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering and Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT. Her research is centered on the chemical physics of surfaces with emphasis on metal oxides, searching for descriptors of catalytic activity, wetting properties and ion transport, and design materials for solar fuel and batteries including electrochemical/photoelectrochemical water splitting and CO2 reduction, ion/electron storage, and ion conductors.
Prof Shao-Horn’s research includes extensive experimental components including synthesis of well-defined surfaces and nanostructured materials, and investigation of processes at the surfaces/interfaces using electrochemical methods coupled with ex situ and in situ X-ray-based and electron-based spectroscopy. These experimental components are used in conjunction with Density Functional Theory computation efforts to develop new, physically based reaction mechanisms and design principles of materials.
Prof Shao-Horn has published ~200 archival journal papers (Thomson Reuters Highly Cited 2015) and has advised ~70 M.S. and Ph.D. students and Postdoctoral Associates at MIT. Select honors and awards include the Tajima Prize from the International Society of Electrochemistry, IBA Research Award and AAAS Fellow.