The Persistently Self-Challenging Scientific Mind

/ Yang Yang / Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, UCLA

Using green energy technology is an increasing trend in the global goal of sustainable economies. Prof. Yang Yang of UCLA, USA has been an influential scholar specializing in the research of green energy. He is reputed as one of “the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” for his outstanding researches on photovoltaic cells, transparent solar panels, and perovskite solar cells.

From NCKU, a New Scientist Emerges

Growing up in a carefree rural life in Changhua County since his childhood, Yang originally intended to follow his father’s footsteps and study electrical engineering. However, he eventually found his way to the Department of Physics, NCKU, where he became enthralled by the vastness of its knowledge and its infinite possibilities of application—“I’ve joined the best Department in the university!” he exclaimed in glee, and dove in head first into the world of Physics. Even during summer breaks, he managed to organize study groups with students from the Department of Physics at National Taiwan University to discuss the profound knowledge of Quantum Physics.

When asked about his student life, Yang admitted that he was not a self-disciplined student. He mentioned laughingly how he always overslept, and had even flunked out of his Calculus class due to frequent absences. However, the academic climate at NCKU allowed Yang to study and develop freely. As a student, Yang was actively involved in various extracurricular activities. Not only was he a member of the Department’s Rugby Team and the Bridge Club, he was also active in the Department’s general affairs, such as organizing the Department’s graduation trips and caring for stray dogs around the Department building. His mentor, Prof. Chang-Shou Ran, assessed him as “being healthy and enthusiastic about public welfare.” Although not impressed by such comments when he was young, Yang was able to reflect on it many years later, and became thankful of how his mentor had accurately defined his character. That is why he could persist in academic research and receive timely supports from others in times of need.

Aspiring to Further Study in USA to Contributing to Taiwan After a Talk with Master Wu

A late-night talk with Dr. Wu Ta-You, father of modern Chinese physics, when Yang was a senior student was the turning point in his academic career. Back then, an epiphany struck Yang and his roommate during Dr. Wu’s visit to NCKU as a keynote speaker, and the two decided to visit Dr. Wu at his hotel at night to talk with the great master about their future. Surprisingly, not only did Dr. Wu agreed to meet them, but he also encouraged Yang to get involved in advanced research in the United States in order to keep Taiwan competitive with the latest knowledge abroad. Thus Yang, who had never thought of overseas study before, became determined to further his post-graduate education in the United States.

Yang’s study in the United States was less than a straightforward path—starting from physics, he switched to electrical engineering, then to polymer chemistry. This peculiarly winding journey was driven forward by his natural quest for knowledge. Yang said: “One should move on from one’s field when the knowledge that one has learned can no longer bring one joy or a sense of fulfillment. One can thrive on one’s journey only when one is enjoying the process.” This is what he often says to encourage his students.

Challenged by an unfamiliar field of study, Yang had also suffered his share of growing pain. During the taxing period of adapting to his new field of study, he stayed true to the pragmatic and thoroughgoing spirit fostered during his days in NCKU, and eventually overcame the obstacles. In retrospect, he felt that his suffering had been “worth it and that the experience that he had gained in the polymer chemistry laboratory eventually led him into the field of Materials Science.

Yang is currently a Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dedicated to researches on photovoltaic cell technologies, his laboratory (Yang Yang Laboratory) conducts some of the most influential and prestigious researches in the world, making UCLA a world-leading research institution on thin-film solar cell technology. The transparent solar panel technology he has developed holds the potential of turning ordinary windows into solar power-generating components. His most recent research interest revolves around perovskite solar cells with the goal to breathe new life into the current renewable energy industry in near future.

From His Global Influence, comes New Generations of Scientific Talents

As one of the most prominent scientists of the past decade, Prof. Yang’s researches and academic contributions to the field of Materials Science have been nothing but remarkable. With more than 400 academic papers published and more than 60 patents held, his H-Index (Hirsch index, which measures the impact of each individual scientist) is as high as 165, while the total number of citations has exceeded 124,000. He was also named as the Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (2015), Fellow of American Physical Society (APS) (2015), Fellow of Materials Research Society (MRS) (2015), and has received the Distinguished Achievement Award of the Chinese-American Engineers and Scientists Association of Southern California (CESASC) (2016). His outstanding academic achievements has earned him the recognition as one of the 19 “the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” announced by Thomson Reuters in 2016.

While recognized for his achievements, Prof. Yang continues to instruct his students tirelessly under the influence of Dr. Wu. Despite his usual busy schedule, he always dedicates time to connect with the academia and industries in Taiwan, especially acting as an Advisor to the Industrial Technology Research Institute and other public sector. Prof. Yang particularly looks forward to the receding of COVID-19 pandemic so that he can bring the students at NCKU to study in the United States. He hopes to bring forth the next generation of engineers and scientists, who will contribute what they have learned back to the society as part of his legacy.

Reflecting on his life, Prof. Yang believes that his source of creativity came from his carefree and boundless childhood in the countryside, while the Department of Physics, NCKU, laid the firm foundation to his research practices in the United States with a solid curriculum and practical laboratory experiments. His habit of keeping daily entries in his laboratory notebook and his rigorous testing of experimental data became the basis of his professionalism.

Influenced by Prof. Yang’s way of work and living, many of his students have been encouraged to bring the best out of themselves as well. Prof. Tzung-Fang Guo, Dean of the Department of Photonics, NCKU, whose doctorate was supervised by Prof. Yang, has mentioned how Prof. Yang’s “rectitude, thoroughness, resourcefulness, and curiosity towards learning” has deeply influenced him, and he hopes to pass his advisor’s ethos down to his students in NCKU.

For the new generation of NCKU students, Prof. Yang encourages them to brave themselves to venture out from their comfort zone to find their interests and devote themselves to those interests: “Easy choice, hard life; hard choice, easy life.” Perhaps the weather won’t always be fair, “but it’s important to keep your mind open. ” (Image source: Courtesy of Yang Yang)

NCKUer ｜
Class ｜
Honors and Achievements ｜

Yang Yang

Department of Physics, Class of 1982

・1998
-NSF CAREER Award

・2011
-The Carol and Lawrence E. Tannas Jr. Endowed Chair in Engineering

・2013
-SPIE Fellow

・2014
-Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)

・2015
-Fellow of American Physical Society (APS)
-Fellow of Materials Research Society (MRS)

・2016
-Distinguished Achievement Award, Chinese-American Engineers and Scientists Association of Southern California (CESASC)
-Outstanding Alumni Award of National Cheng Kung University

・2019
-Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
-Highly Cited Researcher in three major fields: Materials Science, Chemistry, and Physics, Thomson Reuters (now Clarivate Analytics) (Only ~20 people world-wide elected, 2017, 2018, 2019)
-“The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” announced by Thomson Reuters
-Ranked 3 on the World Top Ten Research Groups on the perovskite solar cell research (behind Oxford University and Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln) by the Times Higher Education (THE)
-2019 Sustainable Energy Award. UK Royal Society of Chemistry

・2021
-Invited to join the Advanced Materials Hall of Fame

・June 2021
-H-Index 165 (from Google Scholar), more than 400 refereed publications and more than 124,000 citations

Yang Yang / Department of Physics, Class of 1982