Six CEI researchers among world’s most influential scholars

Guozhong Cao, the Boeing-Steiner Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, professor of chemical engineering, and adjunct professor of mechanical engineering, was recognized for his research in materials science. The Cao group primarily investigates energy-related applications of nanostructured materials, including solar cells, rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors, catalysts, and sensors.

David Cobden, a professor of physics, was recognized for his cross-field research in nanoscale devices like nanowires, nanotubes, and two-dimensional materials. The Cobden group has a particular interest in low-dimensional, topological, and many-body effects and phase transitions.

Alex K-Y. Jen, professor emeritus of materials science & engineering, was recognized for his cross-field research on the design and synthesis of functional polymers. These polymers could form the basis of next-generation printable solar cells, as well as optics and biotechnology. Jen is currently the Lee Shau-Kee Chair Professor of Materials Science and Chair Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science of the City University of Hong Kong, having served as Provost from 2016 to 2020.

Jun Liu, the Washington Research Foundation Innovation Chair in Clean Energy, Campbell Chair Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, and professor of chemical engineering, was listed among the most cited researchers in chemistry and materials science. Liu investigates new materials for energy, biomedicine, environmental, transportation, and communications applications. He also serves as the director of Battery500, a multi-institute initiative backed by the U.S. Department of Energy that aims to triple the energy that can be stored in a lithium-ion battery for the next generation of electric vehicles. Liu joined UW from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), where he maintains a Battelle Fellowship.

Xiaodong Xu, a professor of physics and materials science & engineering, was listed among the most cited researchers in the field of physics. Xu is well-known for his work with two-dimensional materials — just atoms thick — that can be engineered to have unique optical, electronic, magnetic, and topological properties. These materials can be layered like “atomic Legos,” and could become the foundation of next-generation solar cells, LEDs, transistors, and energy-efficient information processing and storage.

Dr. Kyle Seyler, Millikan Postdoctoral Scholar in Physics and a member of David Hsieh’s lab at the Caltech Department of Physics and the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM), was recognized for cross-field research in two-dimensional materials. He is an expert in the optoelectronic response of these emerging materials, including their magnetic properties as well as photoexcitations that are key to devices like next-generation solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and lasers. As a 2014-15 CEI Graduate Fellow in Professor Xiaodong Xu’s group, he researched the fundamental physics of graphene nanoribbons for potential solar applications. At Caltech, he is working to understand and control quantum materials such as high-temperature superconductors using nonlinear optics.