Prof. Yang Zhang is Looking For a Student in Experimental Soft Condensed Matter Physics

Motivated and ambitious graduate students (Ph.D. level) are invited to join Prof. Yang Zhang's research group in the area of experimental and computational soft matter and disordered matter in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The understanding of collective phenomena is, and will remain for a long time, one of the major intellectual challenges in many research fields, from physics to economics. Conventional statistical methods are successfully applied to describe systems at or near equilibrium, but they fail to provide accurate predictions for systems and processes far from equilibrium. Yet much of the richness of the world around us arises from conditions far from equilibrium, such as fracture, turbulent flow, structure of the universe, and life itself. Patterns of amazing complexity are generated spanning an immense range of hierarchical nested space and time scales. Research in such systems and processes allows us to identify the rule of randomness and recognize the role of correlated fluctuating degrees of freedom in the organization and transport of energy, momentum and matter. Such quest for universality is motivated by a hope of identifying emergent principles governing far-from-equilibrium systems.

This assertion could not be more true in the study of complex materials. The principle focus of Prof. Yang Zhang's research aims to understand the physics of disordered matters/materials through integrated microscopic experimental probes (mainly neutron and synchrotron scattering) and predictive computational modeling. The structure and dynamics of these systems are either inherently complex or driven far from equilibrium by extreme conditions - rapid change of temperature or pressure, intense irradiation, high mechanical load, and so on. Examples include some of the most popular and promising engineering materials: liquids and glasses, cement and asphalt, and innumerable bio and soft materials. Such studies will shed light on a class of fundamental and technical problems involving phenomena emerged from rare events, frustrations and ergodicity breaking, and lead to countless pivotal applications.

More specifically, current projects focus on:

1. Structural and dynamical features on the glass-forming ability and performance at extreme conditions of disordered alloys, such as bulk metallic glasses and high-entropy alloys.

2. Dynamic heterogeneity, slow relaxations, anomalous low energy excitations, and unconventional phase transitions in supercooled liquids and glasses.

3. Protein unfolding kinetics and bio-preservation at the nanoscale.

4. Long-term performance of disordered construction materials, such as cement and asphalt.

The experiments are usually performed at the large user facilities at national laboratories in US, Europe and Asia, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Institut Laue-Langevin, etc. Computer modeling and simulation are frequently employed to assist experimental design and data analysis. Solid background in physical sciences and strong quantitative skills are essential. Experience in computer simulation and programming is an additional asset.

For more information, please contact:

Yang Zhang
Assistant Professor
Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Email: zhyang@illinois.edu
Office: 217.300.0452
Web: http://zhang.npre.illinois.edu