Pinshane Y. Huang is a Professor and Racheff Faculty Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is also the Associate Director of 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)
- Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research for Associate Professor (2025)
- 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
- Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2024)
- Rose Award for Teaching Excellence (2023)
- 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 (multiple years)
- List of Teachers Ranked As Excellent by Their Students for MSE 182: Introduction to Materials Science (multiple years)
Post-Docs
Yaolong Xing is a post-doctoral researcher in the MatSE department. Yaolong holds a PhD in Energy Science. His thesis focused on In-Situ TEM observation of ionic diffusion kinetics in functional perovskite oxides. |  |
Graduate Students
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. |  | |
Zachary Martin is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Zach holds a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University. His research unites 4D STEM and materials simulation to explore strain in 2D material systems. |  | |
Anna Li is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Anna hold a BS in Materials Science & Engineering from University of California, Berkeley. |  | |
Katie Cauffiel is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Katie holds a BS in Materials Science & Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Katie leverages electron ptychography to study moire materials. |  | |
Seungkyun Lee is a PhD student in the MatSE department. Seungkyun holds a BS and MS in Materials Science & Engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Seungkyun utilizes 4DSTEM to study two level systems. |  |
Alumni
Post-doctoral researcher | |
Dr. Yichao Zhang - Ph.D. |  |
Dr. Kayla Nguyen - Ph.D. |  |
Graduate | |
Dr. Sang Hyun(Justin) Bae - Ph.D. |  |
Dr. Jeffery Huang - Ph.D. |  |
Dr. Priti Kharel - Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2024 |  |
Dr. Chia-Hao Lee - Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2023 |  |
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 | |
Patrick Carmichael - Class of 2024, Materials Science and Engineering | |
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 |