PNNL

Jinhui Tao, a materials scientist in the Physical Sciences Division at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), has joined the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Minerals. This open-access journal covers a range of mineral-related topics including advances in mineral processing and mining techniques, mineralogy, and economic mineral resources. As a board member, Tao focuses on the journal’s “Biomineralization and Biominerals” section and will play an important role in curating high-quality contributions for special issues under this topic.

In his own research, Tao uses in situ atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to study biomineralization processes, such as those that produce tooth enamel, bones, and crustacean shells. Biominerals contain complex molecular and hierarchical structures that have impressive mechanical properties, like increased strength, toughness, and stiffness. Tao investigates the molecular interactions between proteins and minerals that allow these structures to form.  

Tao’s research expertise makes him a perfect fit for the Minerals section editorial board. He is an internationally recognized expert in biomineralization and has published his research in high-impact journals, including Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Nature Communications. He has also been an invited speaker and chair of internal conferences such as Materials Research Society meetings, the American Conference on Crystal Growth and Epitaxy, and American Chemical Society meetings.

“I joined this editorial board because I want to share my mechanistic understanding of biomineralization both in vivo and in vitro with the community,” said Tao.

Tao has worked for PNNL since 2013. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He received his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Zhejiang University in China. Tao has studied biomineralization since the beginning of his graduate career and has more than 15 years of experience in this field.

Tao’s research interests extend beyond biomineralization. After he became scientist at PNNL, he began to study other research topics integral to the mission of U.S. Department of Energy, including the nucleation of functional materials under electrochemistry, metal corrosion, and the interfacial process of electrodes in lithium-ion batteries.