Bio
Haoran Yu is a senior technical staff member at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. His research focuses on enabling hydrogen technologies for the conversion, storage and application of renewable energy. Specifically, he focuses on electrocatalysts and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for use in hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolyzers. He employs a combination of advanced electron microscopy techniques and in situ/ex situ electrochemical measurements to investigate the structure-property relationships of materials as well as their degradation mechanisms. He is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the H2NEW (Hydrogen from Next-generation Electrolyzers of Water), Roll-to-Roll and Electrocatalyst consortia and is also a staff researcher for the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT) consortium. These consortia are funded by the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) of the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) at the US Department of Energy (DOE). Since joining ORNL in February 2020 as a postdoctoral researcher, he has developed an automated workflow for the high-throughput analysis of microscopy images in order to obtain statistics on nanoparticle properties. He has also studied catalyst degradation mechanisms using electron microscopy in identical locations. Prior to joining ORNL, he was a research professor and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Connecticut (UConn), where he earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering. He received his Bachelor's degree in Polymer Materials and Engineering from Donghua University in Shanghai, China.
Professional Experience
2022-current Technical Professional, ORNL
2020-2022 Postdoctoral research associate, ORNL
2019-2020 Research Professor, University of Connecticut
2017-2019 Postdoctoral research associate, University of Connecticut
Awards
- 2017 Best Paper awards (First Prize), European Fuel Cell Conference
- 2013, 2015, and 2016 Travel grant: Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Engineering Division for biannual meetings of the Electrochemical Society.
- 2011 University of Connecticut pre-doctoral fellowship
Education
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut 2017
B.A. Polymer Materials and Engineering, Donghua University 2011
Professional Affiliations
Member of the Electrochemical Society
Member of Microscopy Society of America (MSA)
Specialized Equipment
JEOL NEOARM Atomic Resolution Imaging & Analytical Electron Microscope