
Pinshane Y. Huang is an Associate Professor and Racheff Faculty Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She also holds an appointment in the Materials Research Laboratory at UIUC. Pinshane holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University, as well as a B.A, in Physics from Carleton College. Her research has been featured in Nova, National Geographic, BusinessWeek, CBS News, Discover Magazine, and the Guinness Book of World Records. Link to CV.
Research Awards
- Racheff Faculty Scholar (2022-present)
- Campus Distinguished Promotion Award (2021)
- Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research (2021)
- Presidential Early Career Award in Science & Engineering (PECASE) (2019)
- NSF CAREER Award (2019)
- Global Highly Cited Researcher (2018)
- Center for Advanced Study Fellow (2018-2019)
- Sloan Fellowship in Physics (2018)
- Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (2018)
- Packard Fellowship (2017)
- 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2017)
- Albert Crewe Award, Microscopy Society of America (2017)
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award (2016)
- Williams Nichols Findley Award for Exceptional Research, Cornell University (2013)
- Raymond Castaing Award, Microbeam Analysis Society (2012)
- Presidential Scholarship Award, Microscopy Society of America (2012)
Teaching Awards
- Grainger College of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award (2021)
- Illinois Student Government Teaching Excellence Award (2018-2019)
- List of Teachers Ranked As Excellent by Their Students for MSE 481: Introduction to Transmission Electron Microscopy (Spring 2017, Spring 2018)
- List of Teachers Ranked As Excellent by Their Students for MSE 182: Introduction to Materials Science (Fall 2016-2021)
Post-Docs
Kayla Nguyen is a post-doctoral researcher in the MatSE department. Kayla holds a PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Applied Engineering Physics from Cornell University. Her thesis explores "New Imaging Capabilities enabled by the Electron Microscopy Pixel Array Detector (EMPAD)". At UIUC, her research utilizes 4D-STEM to image magnetic spin domains in antiferromagnets. | ![]() |
Yichao Zhang is a post-doctoral researcher in the MatSE department. Yichao holds a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Minnesota. Her thesis focuses on "Nanoscale Coherent-Acoustic-Phonon Dynamics in Molybdenum Disulfide Using Ultrafast Electron Microscopy". Yichao's current research explores 2D heterostructures using atomic-resolution imaging. | ![]() |
Graduate Students
Chia-Hao Lee is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Chia-Hao holds a BS and MS in Materials Science and Engineering from National Taiwan University. His research explores the structure-property relationship in 2D materials through STEM and machine learning. | ![]() | |
Sang Hyun (Justin) Bae is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Sang Hyun holds a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. | ![]() | |
Priti Kharel is a PhD student in the Chemistry department. Priti holds a BA in chemistry from Hamilton College. Her research utilizes electron microscopy and image processing to atomically-resolve small molecules. | ![]() | |
Jeffrey Huang is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Jeffrey holds a BS in Applied Physics from Cornell University. His research uses selected area electron diffraction and 4D-STEM to study antiferromagnetic materials. | ![]() | |
Gillian Nolan is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Gillian holds a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research explores the intersection between materials simulation and atomic-resolution imaging. | ![]() | |
Rahim Raja is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Rahim holds a BS in Molecular Engineering and BA in Physics from University of Chicago. He uses 4D STEM, ultra-fast electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy to study the unique properties of 2D interfaces . | ![]() |
Alumni
Graduate | |
Dr. Edmund Han - Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2022 | ![]() |
Dr. Blanka Janicek - Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2021 | ![]() |
Chuqiao (Joe) Shi - M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2020 | ![]() |
Undergraduate | |
Amanda Loutris - Class of 2022, Materials Science and Engineering | |
Rachel Lawless - Class of 2020, Materials Science and Engineering | |
Jane Park - Class of 2020, Materials Science and Engineering | |
Shunya Namiki - Class of 2020, Materials Science and Engineering |