Yang Huai 

Professor

Director of the Institute of New Structural Materials

Education：

1985.09-1989.07 Bachelor, College of Chemistry, Jilin University

1989.09-1992.07 Master, Institute of Materials Science, Jilin University

1992.09-1998.02 Ph.D., Institute of Materials Science, Jilin University

1994.10-1996.10 Joint doctoral-student, The Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Japan

 2002.03 Ph.D., Kyushu University, Japan

Work Experience：

1998.02-2002.03 Researcher, Fukuoka Foundation for Industrial Science and Technology Promotion, Japan

2002.04-2003.08 Researcher, Science and Technology Promotion Agency, Japan

2003.08-2012.01 Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing

2012.01-2020.12 Tenured Professor, College of Engineering, Peking University

2021.1 until now Tenured Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University

Research Focus：

Research focuses on small molecule liquid crystals, polymer liquid crystals, and liquid crystal/polymer composite materials, investigating the relationship between the molecular structure or microstructure of the materials and their properties. Systematic studies are conducted on functional liquid crystal materials, molecular design of liquid crystal composite materials, microstructure, control of properties, and key technical issues in their large-scale processing processes.

Research Areas:

(1) Molecular design and synthesis of liquid crystal materials;

(2) Smart dimming films for architectural and automotive windows and doors;

(3) Fully flexible liquid crystal displays;

(4) Field-responsive liquid crystal polymer elastomers;

(5) Liquid crystal polymer electrolytes;

(6) Liquid crystal polymer/carbon fiber composite materials.

Responsible for over 30 projects, including the Major National R&D Program by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Innovative Research Groups funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Major Scientific Research Instrument Development by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange projects by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Key Projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National "863 Program," National Science and Technology Support Program, Major International Cooperation Projects by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Major Special Projects for Flat Panel Displays by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Key and Major Projects by the Ministry of Education, Priority Development Area Projects for Doctoral Programs by the Ministry of Education, Major Science and Technology Programs by the Beijing Municipality, as well as university-industry cooperation projects.

Published over 300 SCI papers in international academic journals such as "Nature Communications" and "Advanced Materials." Applied for more than 160 national invention patents, with over 90 patents granted.

Honors and Awards:

2003: Outstanding Paper Award from the Japan Liquid Crystal Society

2004: Distinguished Professor under the Ministry of Education's "Chang Jiang Scholars Program"

2007: "Jianlong Lecture Professor" at Beijing University of Science and Technology

2010: Recipient of the National Distinguished Youth Fund

2011: Nomination for Best Article Award at the 5th Feng Xinde Polymer Award

2014: First Prize in Technical Invention Award at the Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Award in Higher Education (as the first awardee)

2015: Second Prize in National Technical Invention Award (as the first awardee)

2016: First Prize in Natural Science Award at the Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Award in Higher Education (as the first awardee)

2019: Nomination for Best Article Award at the 13th Feng Xinde Polyme

2020: Second Prize in National Technical Invention Award (as the first awardee)

Main academic positions:

Since December 2013: Editorial Board Member of "Liquid Crystals"

Since October 2017: Editorial Board Member of "Materials Chemistry Frontiers"

Since 2020: Editorial Board Member of "Engineering"

From 2018 to 2021: Editorial Board Member of "Functional Materials"

From 2013 to 2016: Editorial Board Member of "Liquid Crystals and Displays"

Since July 2014: Executive Director of the First Council of the Polymer Materials and Engineering Branch of the Chinese Materials Research Society

Since November 2016: Vice Chairman of the China New Materials Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance

Since November 2017: Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Representative Paper：

1. Jinying Bao, Zizheng Wang, Chenjie Song, Yuhan Zhang, Zhaozhong Li, Lanying Zhang, Ruochen Lan*, Huai Yang*, Shape-programmable liquid-crystalline polyurethane-based multimode actuators triggered by light-driven molecular motors, Advanced Materials 2023, 35 (41), 2302168

2. Jianying Zhang, Shengyu Qin, Shuoning Zhang, Chang Sun, Yunxiao Ren, Lanying Zhang, Jiale Liu, Jiumei Xiao, Wei Hu*, Huai Yang*, Dengke Yang, Programmable dynamic information storage composite film with highly sensitive thermochromism and gradually adjustable fluorescence, Advanced Materials 2023, 2305872

3. Shengyu Qin, Yinuo Yu, Jianying Zhang, Yunxiao Ren, Chang Sun, Shuoning Zhang, Lanying Zhang*, Wei Hu*, Huai Yang*, Dengke Yang, Separator-free in situ dual-curing solid polymer electrolytes with enhanced interfacial contact for achieving ultrastable lithium-metal batteries, Advanced Energy Materials 2023, 13(34), 2301470

4. Ruochen Lan, Jinying Bao, Zhaozhong Li, Zizheng Wang, Chenjie Song, Chen Shen, Rui Huang, Jian Sun, Qian Wang*, Lanying Zhang*, Huai Yang*, Orthogonally integrating programmable structural color and photo-rewritable fluorescence in hydrazone photoswitch-bonded cholesteric liquid crystalline network, Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 2022, 61(50), e202213915

5. Ruochen Lan, Jinying Bao, Rui Huang, Zizheng Wang, Lanying Zhang, Chen Shen*, Qian Wang*, Huai Yang*, Amplifying molecular scale rotary motion: the marriage of overcrowded alkene molecular motor with liquid crystals, Advanced Materials 2022, 34(40), 2109800

6. Wei Hu, Ling Wang, Meng Wang, Tingjun Zhong, Qian Wang, Lanying Zhang, Feiwu Chen, Kexuan Li, Zongcheng Miao, Dengke Yang, Huai Yang*, Ultrastable liquid crystalline blue phase from molecular synergistic self-assembly, Nature Communications, 2021,12(1), 1440

7. Wei Hu, Chang Sun, Yunxiao Ren, Shengyu Qin, Yu Shao, Lanying Zhang, Yu Wu*, Qian Wang*, Huai Yang*, Dengke Yang*, Programmable chromism and photoluminescence of spiropyran-based liquid crystalline polymer with tunable glass transition temperature, Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2021, 60 (35), 19406-19412

8. Ruochen Lan(#), Qian Wang,(#); Chen Shen, Rui Huang, Jinying Bao, Zhongping Zhang, Lanying Zhang, Huai Yang*, Humidity-induced simultaneous visible and fluorescence photonic patterns enabled by integration of covalent bonds and ionic crosslinks, Advanced Functional Materials, 2021, 31(51), 2106419

9. Ruochen Lan, Jian Sun, Chen Shen, Rui Huang, Zhongping Zhang, Lanying Zhang, Ling Wang, Huai Yang*, Near-infrared photodriven self-sustained oscillation of liquid-crystalline network film with predesignated polydopamine coating, Advanced Materials 2020, 32(14), 1906319

10. Ruochen Lan, Jian Sun, Chen Shen, Rui Huang, Zhongping Zhang, Cong Ma, Jinying Bao, Lanying Zhang, Ling Wang, Dengke Yang, Huai Yang*, Light-driven liquid crystalline networks and soft actuators with degree-of-freedom-controlled molecular motor, Advanced Functional Materials, 2020, 30(19), 2000252