PNNL

Ying Xia, a graduate student at the University of Washington (UW), was selected as a Graduate Student Award Finalist for the 2024 Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS). Xia is co-advised by Professors Jim De Yoreo and Jun Liu, both joint appointees at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and UW.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be an MRS Graduate Student Award Finalist,” said Xia. “This would not have been possible without the support and guidance I’ve received from Jim and Jun.”

MRS Graduate Student Awards “honor and encourage graduate students whose academic achievements and current materials research display a high level of excellence and distinction.” Selected after presentations at the MRS meeting, students can be awarded a Gold Award, Silver Award, or the Arthur Nowick Graduate Student Award. Each award includes a monetary prize and either a pin or plaque for the student awardee.

Xia will give a presentation, “Revealing the Effects of Polymer Additives on Zn Dendrite Suppression in Aqueous Zn Batteries via In-Situ EC-AFM,” in a special session with the other finalists. Her overall research focuses on understanding the fundamental science behind metal electrodeposition at interfaces to develop general design principles for more effective and longer lasting zinc-based batteries. She uses advanced surface techniques, such as electrochemical atomic force microscopy, to observe these processes at different scales. 

“Ying is a fantastic young researcher,” said De Yoreo. “Her insights, work ethic, and ability to solve complicated problems have contributed immensely to her well-deserved success.”

Xia is a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering at UW. She has performed research at PNNL during her graduate studies, supported by a PNNL-managed Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering, Synthesis and Processing Science project. Her research projects rely heavily on specialized interfacial techniques and involve close collaboration with experts in diverse fields, including atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations. She is a former Clean Energy Institute Fellow and received the 2024 Electrochemical Society Pacific Northwest Section Electrochemistry Student Award. She was also selected as a finalist for the 2024 Langmuir Graduate Student Award from the American Chemical Society.

This research is supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering through the Synthesis and Processing Sciences program.