The 5th DAMO Academy Young Fellow Award was announced on October 31st. Professor Yao Yonggang, from the School of Materials Science and Engineering of HUST, won the award for "developing an electrothermal transient high-temperature synthesis technology that is precisely controllable, enabling a possibility to promote high-efficiency, low-carbon, and cleaning material manufacturing and chemical production". Yao is the first young scholar of HUST to be nominated for this award.

Yao graduated from Xi'an Jiaotong University with a bachelor's degree in 2010 and a master's degree in 2013, and received his doctorate from the University of Maryland in 2018. After graduation, he continued to work there as a postdoctoral fellow and assistant researcher, until moving back to China in October 2020 to join the School of Materials Science and Engineering of HUST. He has long been engaged in ultra-high temperature transient synthesis and manufacturing technology, particularly in the development of new energy materials and low-carbon rapid manufacturing technology.

It was an accident in an experiment seven years ago that prompted Yao to start his research on transient high-temperature synthesis. In 2015, when he was studying for a doctorate, the transient high-temperature phenomenon was discovered by accident, and it later became the focus of his research group. "Accidental discoveries are very important in scientific research, but they can only be turned into scientific findings with profound scientific knowledge and in-depth experimental research." Yao said. After moving back to China, Yao has been focusing on the study of clean energy materials and rapid manufacturing technology, working tirelessly to promote the upgrading of the material manufacturing and chemical industry. "I hope this industry can be clean, low-carbon and eco-friendly." he said.

At the Center of New Materials and Devices, Yao and his student Zhang Hao are focusing on the research and development of a technology that will allow high purity, high efficiency, and low pollution recycling of large-scale batteries. After repeated testing, they developed a brand-new technical prototype. Through continuous adaptations, they finally invented the process and equipment for accurate recycling of battery materials at room temperature, scaling the processing capacity from grams to tons and making the pure, efficient and clean recycling of large-scale batteries a reality. Now, Yao and his student are preparing for the industrialization of this technology.

Yao's blueprint for scientific research is ambitious. It covers everything from researching and developing new energy materials and new manufacturing technologies, to improving the energy and time efficiency of material manufacturing and chemical manufacturing processes, to promoting clean, low-carbon, greener, and sustainable development of the industry. He said that he would strive to solve any problems he might come across and take them as an opportunity to advance this research. 

DAMO Academy Young Fellow Award was established in August 2018, aiming to discover and support full-time scientific researchers working in China's universities and research institutes who have the potential to make outstanding achievements and grow into the backbone of China's scientific research in the future. This year is the first time that the award has officially included the fields of Mathematics and Physics, Astronomy and Earth Science, Chemistry and Materials, Life Science and Medicine in the award category. The organizing committee has received nearly 500 valid application materials from more than 700 outstanding young scholars aged 35 and below, covering 135 universities and research institutes across the country. In the end, a total of 15 young scholars won the award. They are from Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, University of Science and Technology of China, Huazhong University of Science and Technology and other universities.

Source: School of Materials Science and Engineering

Written by: Zhu Yixuan

Edited by: Shi Can, Peng Yumeng