Yao Lingmin from the University of Macau (UM) Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering (IAPME) recently became the first PhD student to graduate from the institute after passing her thesis defense with excellence. Soon after her graduation, she was appointed an assistant professor at Guangzhou University.
Titled ‘Novel Design of Highly Oriented Titanate-Based Nanorod Array and Its Application in Nanocomposite Capacitors’, Dr Yao’s paper was unanimously praised by members of the examination committee. Yao’s supervisor was Haydn Chen, a former chair professor at UM. After completing all the coursework in the first year, Yao began a collaboration project with a research team led by Prof Zhai Jiwei from Tongji University in Shanghai and frequently travelled between Shanghai and Macao during the ensuing two years. During that period, her primary research focus was on the synthesis of composites for energy harvesting and high energy density in capacitors. She successfully designed a new structure, barium titanate-based nanorod array. Using the nanorods as fillers and PVDF as the matrix, she created a powerful electrical energy storage device. While working at UM, Dr Yao published two papers in SCI-indexed journals with high impact factors.
Established in 2014, the IAPME boasts a young and innovative research team. The institute aims to develop a new discipline in applied physics and materials engineering with local characteristics so as to develop technologies urgently needed in Macao and its neighbouring regions. It also aspires to become a domestically leading and globally impactful centre for talent training, materials engineering research, and the commercialisation of research results. The research studies at the IAPME are based on physics, geared towards application, and take the form of material design and preparation.