PNNL

Congratulations to Dr. Tiecheng Zhou, an IDREAM early career scientist, on receiving his doctorate in materials science and engineering from Washington State University. His doctoral research included using computational approaches to solve intractable materials problems. As part of his studies, he developed network analysis algorithms and applied them to investigate intermolecular interactions in aqueous solutions and at interfaces.

"Zhou's research is an interesting blend of data analytics, mathematics, and statistical mechanics," said Dr. Aurora Clark, his advisor at Washington State University and Deputy Director of IDREAM. "With the increase in large interdisciplinary research projects, like IDREAM, there is a huge need for scientists that also understand and can solve data-oriented problems. He has a bright and exciting future ahead of him."

With IDREAM, Zhou focuses on quantifying the structural transition between tetrahedral and octahedral aluminum species in solution using a popular network analysis algorithm. He has used this approach to explore the energy landscape of aluminum structural transitions, which influence solubility of this critical element in nuclear waste processing. He's also applied this algorithm to understand ion-pairing phenomena in concentrated electrolytes.

The Interfacial Dynamics in Radioactive Environments and Materials (IDREAM) Energy Frontier Research Center is funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences.