About Ying
Principal Investigator
Ying Diao
Associate Professor
University Scholar, Dow Chemical Company Faculty Scholar
Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering
Thrust leader, Molecule Maker Lab Institute
Co-Chair, Molecular Science and Engineering Theme, Beckman Institute
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Address: 3265 Beckman Institute, 405 N Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801
Email: yingdiao@illinois.edu
Short Bio
Ying Diao is an Associate Professor, University Scholar and Dow Chemical Company Faculty Scholar in Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She serves as the Co-Chair of Molecular Science and Engineering in the Beckman Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, and a Thrust Lead of the Molecular Maker Lab Institute – an NSF AI Institute. She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2012. Her doctoral thesis was on understanding heterogeneous nucleation of pharmaceuticals by designing polymeric substrates. In her subsequent postdoctoral training at Stanford University, she pursued research in the thriving field of printed electronics. Diao group, started in 2015 at Illinois, focuses on understanding assembly of organic functional materials and innovating printing approaches that enable structural control down to the molecular and nanoscale. She has over 100 publications which have been cited close to 10,000 times. Her work has been frequently featured in scientific journals and news media. She is named to the MIT Technology Review’s annual list of Innovators Under 35 as a pioneer in nanotechnology and materials. She is also a recipient of NSF CAREER Award, NASA Early Career Faculty Award, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award and was selected as a Sloan Research Fellow in Chemistry as one of the “very best scientific minds working today”.
Education
2011 – 2014 Postdoctoral Scholar
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
Material Science Division, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Topics : Solution printing and in situ X-ray scattering of organic semiconductors
2006 – 2011 Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, MIT
Minor : Materials Science and Engineering
Thesis : Design of polymeric substrates for controlled molecular crystallization
2006 – 2008 M.S., Chemical Engineering Practice, MIT
2002 – 2006 B.S., Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University
Selected Awards and Honors
2024 Owens Corning Early Career Award, AIChE
2024 MRS-Kavli Foundation Frontiers of Materials Symposium X Lecture
2024 Early Career Distinguished Presenter, Materials Research Society
2023 Emerging Research Leaders Academy, University of Illinois
2023 University Scholar, University of Illinois
2023 New Horizons Solvay Lectures in Chemistry, International Solvay Institutes
2023 List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, Fa’16, Sp’18, Sp’20, Fa’20, Fa’21, Fa’22
2022 Van Ness Award Lecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
2022 Thiele Award Lecture, University of Notre Dame
2022 “Rising Star” series of Advanced Materials
2022 Soft Matter Emerging Investigator
2021 Campus Distinguished Promotion Award
2021 I. C. Gunsalus Scholar, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
2020 NASA Early Career Faculty Award
2020 Rising Star in Materials Chemistry, Chemistry of Materials “Up-and-Coming Series”
2020 Emerging Investigator, Chemical Society Reviews, the Royal Society of Chemistry
2019 Lincoln Excellence for Assistant Professor (LEAP) Scholar, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
2019 Beckman Fellow, Center for Advanced Study
2019 Early Career Award, AVS Prairie Chapter
2019 Emerging Investigator in Crystal Growth & Design, ACS Publications
2019 Emerging Investigator, Molecular Systems Design & Engineering, Royal Society of Chemistry
2019 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2018 NSF CAREER Award
2018 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award
2018 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry
2017 Chemistry of Materials Reviewer Excellence Award, ACS Publications
2017 SCS Teaching Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2017 US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, National Academy of Engineering
2016 MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 (MIT TR35 Award)
2016 Emerging Investigator, Journal of Materials Chemistry, Royal Society of Chemistry
2014 William E. and Diane M. Spicer Young Investigator Award, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
2014 Best Oral Contribution Award, Materials Research Society – Organic Electronics Symposium
2011 Separations Division Graduate Research Award, AIChE
2011 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor, MIT
2006 Bayer Graduate Fellowship, Chemical Engineering, MIT
2006 Institute Excellent Graduate Award, Tsinghua University
2006 Outstanding Senior Thesis Award, Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University
2003 Dow Chemical Scholarship, Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University