Liangbing Hu named the Melamed Professor of Electrical Engineering

Liangbing Hu, whose research focuses on materials innovations, manufacturing, and device integrations, with a particular focus on emerging technologies to address the energy and climate challenges, was recently appointed the Carol and Douglas Melamed Professor of Electrical Engineering, effective July 1, 2024.

Hu joined the faculty of the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS), in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, in July, arriving from the University of Maryland College Park, where he was the Distinguished University Professor. He also served as director of the Center for Materials Innovation.

In his research and scholarship, he has made groundbreaking contributions in low-dimensional electronic materials and devices, ionic battery materials, nano-cellulose materials, and non-equilibrium material synthesis for energy and electronic applications. His research portfolio is characterized by unusual imagination, juxtaposed with keen visions in technological impacts.

Hu is among the very few scientists who manage to interface and interweave physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and material science. A prime example is the discovery that physical properties of wood can be drastically modified by nanoscale cell-wall engineering, effectively turning the plywood from Home Depot into a moldable sheet with exceptional strength, transparency, and even conductivity. He is a co-founder of InventWood and HighT-Tech among others.

Hu is very active in major professional societies and has received numerous recognitions, including Materials Research Society Fellow; the Nature Spinoff Prize, a global award that recognizes early-stage university spinoff companies that create products or services from scientific research to address market problems; the American Chemical Society Energy & Fuels Research Excellence Award in Electrochemical Energy Storage; and the Software & Information Industry Association Design Excellence Gold Award from AAAS/Science Magazine. He also has served as an (associate) editor and on the editorial board of major research journals and has organized more than 20 symposiums in ACS and MRS societies.

A graduate of the University of Science and Technology of China, Hu earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Los Angeles.