Y. Tang (Yinglu)

Biography

Yinglu Tang obtained her BSc at the department of Materials Science and Engineering at Beihang University (previous Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics) in China. She did her bachelor thesis in computational materials at Ecole Nationale Supérieur Arts et Métiers in France. Later she studied for MSc in polymer science and engineering and diplôme d’ingénieur in Mechanical Engineering there. In 2010 She started her PhD at California Institute of Technology in the United States. Her research topic was focused on understanding the electronic structure and phase relations for optimizing Skutterdite thermoelectric material. After her PhD, Yinglu joined the lab of Materials for Energy Conversion at EMPA in Switzerland, where she worked as a postdoctoral scientist in close collaboration with industrial companies to design and manufacture a prototype of thermoelectric generator for automobiles with novel intermetallic materials. Her interest in applied research also lead her to the corporate research center at ABB Switzerland and there she lead projects in electrical contact material research with metal-oxide composites for low-voltage switchgear applications. In 2020, out of her passion for fundamental science and research Yinglu decided to move back to academia and she is now an assistant professor at the department of Aerospace Structures and Materials within the faculty of Aerospace Engineering of Delft University of Technology. Her research focuses on design and optimization of materials for space application, integrating phase diagram assisted defect engineering, transport phenomenon of electrons and phonons, and structural design.

Expertise

Her core expertise is in the designing of complex intermetallic and ceramic materials using powder metallurgy techniques, phase boundary engineering and high temperature thermal and electronic transport properties analysis. Her research vision is to design novel materials for space applications based on a defect engineering approach. Defects (impurities, secondary phases, voids) are not something to be simply avoided but could be designed and engineered to fulfill specific structural and/or functional purposes. By establishing the relationship between structural chemistry and functional properties through both experimental data and predictive simulations, materials with desired performance for harsh space environment can carry us one step closer towards our space dream.

Her current research portfolio is structured to realize this vision through three main topic areas: 

• Ultra-high temperature ceramics for extreme temperature applications such as rocket nozzles, leading edge of hypersonic flights, combustion engine blades etc.
• Optimization of simulant Martian regolith material and development of material descriptor for space habitation 
• Material evolvement during impact cratering in extraterrestrial planets 

Key Publications

1. Yinglu Tang, Yuting Qiu, Lili Xi, Xun Shi, Wenqing Zhang, Lidong Chen, Ssu-Ming Tseng, Sinn-wen Chen and G. Jeffrey Snyder “Phase Diagram of In-Co-Sb System and Thermoelectric Properties of In-containing Skutterudites” Energy and Environmental Science 7, 812-819 (2014)
2. Yinglu Tang, Zachary M. Gibbs, Luis Agapito, Guodong Li, Hyun-Sik Kim, Marco BuongiornoNardelli, Stefano Curtarolo, G. Jeffrey Snyder, “ Convergence of the Multivalley Bands as the Electronic Origin of High Thermoelectric Performance in CoSb3 Skutterudites” Nature Materials 14, 1223-1228 (2015)
3. Yinglu Tang, Riley Hanus, Sinn-wen Chen, G. Jeffrey Snyder, “Solubility Design Leading to High zT in Low-Cost Ce-CoSb3 Skutterudites” Nature Communications 6, 7584(1-7) (2015)
4. Yinglu Tang, Chris Wolverton, G. Jeffrey Snyder, Book Chapter “Phase Diagram Study inn-type Skutterudites” Materials Aspect of Thermoelectricity (Edited by Ctirad, Uher, CRC Press), 351384 (2016)
5. Yinglu Tang, Xiaoshuang Li, Lukas HJ Martin, Eduardo Cuervo Reyes, Toni Ivas, Christian Leinenbach, Shashwat Anand, Matthew Peters, G Jeffrey Snyder, Corsin Battaglia, “Impact of Ni content on the thermoelectric properties of half-Heusler TiNiSn” Energy & Environmental Science 11 (2), 311-320 (2018)

Awards

• Demetriades - Tsafka - Kokkalis Prize for the best thesis in benign renewable energy sources or related fields at California Institute of Technology, 2016. 
• Goldsmid Award for excellence in research by the international society of thermoelectrics on the 35th international conference on thermoelectrics (35th ICT), 2015. 
• Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad, 2015. 
• Graduate Student Award for excellence in research by the international society of thermoelectrics on the 34th ICT, 2015.