Materials Scientist
Materials Scientist

Biography

Kayla Yano is a materials scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, supporting the Advanced Microscopy team in the Reactor Materials group. Yano focuses her work on characterization of structural alloys and fuels for nuclear reactors using advanced characterization techniques. She is specifically interested in studying the interaction of irradiation and corrosion on metal alloys and their oxides. For one of her main projects, she employs isotopic tracers and atom probe tomography to better understand the transport phenomena mediating the material performance and degradation. Yano primarily does work for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science and the Office of Nuclear Energy. In addition, Yano is a steward for one of PNNL’s scanning transmission electron microscopes in the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory. 

Disciplines and Skills

  • Electron microscopy 

  • Atom probe tomography 

  • Metallurgy 

  • Irradiation effects 

  • Small-scale mechanical testing 

Education

  • PhD in materials engineering, Purdue University 

  • MS in materials science and engineering, Boise State University 

  • BS in mechanical engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 

Affiliations and Professional Service

  • The Minerals Metals and Materials Society 

  • American Nuclear Society 

  • Microscopy Society of America 

Awards and Recognitions

Best Publication of The Year Award, Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 2021 

Publications

2023 

Koziol, A., K.H. Yano, A. Schemer-Kohrn, A.  Soulami, V.V. Joshi, S.A. Briggs, and E.J. Kautz. 2023. “Microstructure and microchemistry changes at U-10Mo fuel/AA6061 cladding interfaces with varying hot isostatic pressing conditions.” Journal of Nuclear Materials 585: 154597. DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154597 

2022 

Agarwal S., M. Butterling, M.O. Liedke, K.H. Yano, D.K. Schreiber, A.C. Jones, and B.P. Uberuaga, et al. 2022. "The mechanism behind the high radiation tolerance of Fe-Cr alloys." Journal of Applied Physics 131, no. 12: Art. No. 125903. PNNL-SA-164885. doi:10.1063/5.0085086 

Kaspar T.C., P. Hatton, K.H. Yano, S.D. Taylor, S.R. Spurgeon, B.P. Uberuaga, and D.K. Schreiber. 2022. "Adatom-driven oxygen intermixing during the deposition of oxide thin films by molecular beam epitaxy." Nano Letters 22, no. 12:4963-4969. PNNL-SA-172523. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01678 

Yano K.H., A. Kohnert, T.C. Kaspar, S.D. Taylor, S.R. Spurgeon, H. Kim, and Y. Wang, et al. 2022. "Dose Rate Dependent Cation & Anion Radiation Enhanced Diffusion in Hematite." Journal of Materials Chemistry A 10, no. 45:24167-24177. PNNL-SA-172572. doi:10.1039/D2TA03403D 

Kim, H., M.R. Chancey, T. Chung, I. Brackenbury, M.O. Liedke, M. Butterling, E. Hirschmann, A. Wagner, J.K. Baldwin, B.K. Derby, N. Li, K.H. Yano, D.J. Edwards, Y. Wang, and F.A. Selim. 2022. “Interface effect of Fe and Fe2O3 on the distributions of ion induced defects.” Journal of Applied Physics 132 (10): 105901. DOI: 10.1063/5.0095013 

Taylor, S. D., K.H. Yano, M. Sassi, B.E. Matthews, E.J Kautz,  S.V. Lambeets, S. Neuman, D.K. Schreiber, L. Wang, Y. Du, and S.R. Spurgeon. 2023. “Resolving Diverse Oxygen Transport Pathways Across Sr-Doped Lanthanum Ferrite and Metal-Perovskite Heterostructures.” Adv. Mater. Interfaces 10: 2202276. DOI: 10.1002/admi.202202276 

2021 

Kaspar T.C., S.D. Taylor, K.H. Yano, T.G. Lach, Y. Zhou, Z. Zhu, and A. Kohnert, et al. 2021. "Bulk and short-circuit anion diffusion in epitaxial Fe2O3 films quantified using buried isotopic tracer layers." Advanced Materials Interfaces 8, no. 9:2001768. PNNL-SA-155914. doi:10.1002/admi.202001768 

Yano K.H., A. Kohnert, A. Banerjee, D.J. Edwards, E. Holby, T.C. Kaspar, and H. Kim, et al. 2021. "Radiation-Enhanced Anion Transport in Hematite." Chemistry of Materials 33, no. 7:2307-2318. PNNL-SA-157643. doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c04235 

Yano, K. H., Kohnert, A. A., Kaspar, T. C., Taylor, S. D., Spurgeon, S. R., Kim, H., Wang, Y., Uberuaga, B. P., Schreiber, D. K. Radiation Enhanced Anion Diffusion in Chromia. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2021, 125(50), 27820–27827. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c08705 

Lach, T.G., M.J. Olszta, S.D. Taylor, K.H. Yano, D.J. Edwards, T.S. Byun, P.H. Chou, and D.K. Schreiber. 2021. “Correlative STEM-APT characterization of radiation-induced segregation and precipitation of in-service BWR 304 stainless steel.” Journal of Nuclear Materials 549 (152894). DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.152894. 

Yang, Y., S.Y. Wang, B. Xiang, S. Yin, T.C. Pekin, X. Li, R. Zhang, K. Yano, D. Hwang, M. Asta, C. Grigoropoulous, F.I. Allen, and A.M. Minor. 2021 “Evaluating the effects of pillar shape and gallium ion beam damage on the mechanical properties of single crystal aluminum nanopillars.” Journal of Materials Research. DOI: 10.1557/s43578-021-00125-5 

2020 

Yano K.H., S.D. Taylor, T.C. Kaspar, T.G. Lach, and D.K. Schreiber. 2020. "Resolving atomic transport through iron oxide under irradiation using isotopic tracers." Microscopy and Microanalysis 26, no. S2:1108-1110. PNNL-SA-151954. doi:10.1017/S1431927620016979 

Yano K.H., Y. Wu, and J.P. Wharry. 2020. "Method for Evaluating Irradiation Effects on Flow Stress in Fe-9%Cr ODS Using TEM in situ Cantilevers." JOM. The Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society 72, no. 5:065-2074. PNNL-SA-151821. doi:10.1007/s11837-020-04110-x 

2019 

Wharry, J.P., K.H. Yano, and P.V. Patki. 2019. “Intrinsic-extrinsic size effect relationship for micromechanical tests.” Scripta Materialia 162, (63-67). DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2018.10.045 

2018 

Yano, K.H., K.S. Mao, J.P. Wharry and D.M. Porterfield. 2018. “Investing in a permanent and sustainable nuclear waste disposal solution.”  Progress in Nuclear Energy 108: 474-479. DOI: 10.1016/j.pnucene.2018.07.003 

Yano, K.H., S. Thomas, M.J. Swenson, Y. Lu, and J.P. Wharry. 2018. “TEM in situ cube-corner indentation analysis using ViBe motion detection algorithm.” 2018. Journal of Nuclear Materials 502: 201-212. DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.02.003 

2017 

Wharry, J.P., M.J. Swenson and K.H. Yano. 2017. “A review of the irradiation evolution of dispersed oxide nanoparticles in b.c.c. Fe-Cr alloys: current understanding and future directions.”  Journal of Nuclear Materials 486: 11-20.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.01.009 PlumX Top Ten of 2017.