Five of 58 AFOSR grants go to Engineering at Illinois researchers

Five of the 58 recipients of the Air Force’s Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) award hail from Engineering at Illinois. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research announced $20.8 million in grants to scientists and engineers from 41 research institutions and small businesses who submitted winning research proposals.

Illinois researchers who submitted successful entries from the more than 230 proposals were:

• Qian Chen, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, Understanding the “Mission Versatility” of Membrane Proteins via Nanoscopic Imaging
• Yuhang Hu, assistant professor of mechanical science and engineering, Tough Gel: A Perfect Platform for Designing Chemomechano-chemically Responsive Multi-functional Materials
• Pinshane Huang, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, Probing the Atomic Origins of Electronic States in Low Dimensional Materials and Interfaces
• Daniel Krogstad, a research scientist with the Applied Research Institute, Development of Ordered Nanocomposites through the use of Block Copolymer Self-Assembly and Additive Manufacturing
• Kelly Stephani, assistant professor of mechanical science and engineering, Fundamental Energy Transfer Mechanisms in High Temperature Phonon-mediated Gas-surface Interactions

The YIP is open to scientists and engineers at research institutions across the United States who received PhD or equivalent degrees in the last five years and who show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research.

The objective of the program is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering, enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators, and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the Air Force mission and the related challenges in science and engineering.