Biography

Pinshane Huang is an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She holds a B.A. in Physics from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell University. Her current research is focused around transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy of two-dimensional materials and soft-hard interfaces. Her work has produced iconic images showing how defects occur in atomically thin materials such as graphene, 2D semiconductors, and silica glass. Her awards include a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), a Packard Fellowship, a Sloan Fellowship, and young investigator awards from the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. Her research has been featured in National Geographic, BusinessWeek, CBS News, Discover Magazine, and the Guinness Book of World Records.

Research

Research Statement

Our group uses transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy to understand nanomaterials and devices at the atomic scale. Using recent advances in aberration-corrected electron microscopy, we aim to image the structure, bonding, electronic, optical properties of materials with unprecedented precision—especially in 2D materials such as graphene. Studying this new class of nanomaterials offers a two-fold opportunity: first, 2D materials serve as model systems to directly correlate the structure and properties of individual atomic features. In these studies, the reduced dimensionality of 2D materials allow us to access new regimes in complex materials systems, such as the real-space, atomic-scale structure of glass.  Second, because defects, dopants, and interfaces have dramatic effects on the properties of materials that are only a single unit-cell thick, these studies allow for dramatic tuning of the properties of 2D materials. Together, this research aims to harness the incredible insights of atom-by-atom microscopy to design novel nanomaterials and devices.

Research Areas

  • Electronic Materials

Research Topics

Education

  • 2014
    Cornell University
    PhD in Applied Physics

Positions

  • 2015 · Present
    (Materials Science and Engineering)
    University of Illinois

Publications

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