PNNL

Jingshan Du, a materials scientist and postdoctoral fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), was recently selected to join the Early Career Editorial Advisory Board (ECEAB) of the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. His three-year term began in 2022.

ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering publishes work focused on biomaterials across a wide range of sub-topics. These include computational approaches to understanding biomaterials, the creation and modification of biomaterials, and biomaterial interfaces, among others.

“I am excited about the opportunity to work with editors and other scientists to promote materials research that shows promise in life systems,” said Du. “As part of the ECEAB, I will bring my own experience in materials science and microscopy to the peer-review process. I plan to contribute to journal development through engagement with emerging research topics, conferences, and social media.”

Over the next three years, Du and his fellow ECEAB members will play an active role in decision-making at ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. This opportunity provides useful insight into the publishing process for early-career researchers.

Du joined PNNL in 2021 as the Laboratory’s first Washington Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. The fellowship funds classes of 10 postdoctoral researchers in Washington working on “ambitious projects addressing major public needs” for three years.

Du’s work examines how ice forms at the nanoscale. Despite ice’s prevalence around us, researchers still have a limited understanding of the very earliest stages of ice formation. These small-scale ice processes have implications for cryopreservation, atmospheric science, and aerospace materials. Du works with Jim De Yoreo, a Battelle fellow, and plans to develop new, low temperature imaging methods. This will enable him to observe ice crystals forming with high levels of detail, down to the atom scale.