Professor Ying Diao invited to give New Horizons Solvay lectures

The Solvay institutes have been historically world famous since their inception. The first conference held by the Solvay institutes was in 1911 and was the first international physics conference. This conference was held to focus on “Radiation and the Quanta,” which functioned as the basis for future exploration of quantum mechanics. The success of this first conference led to the creation of the international Solvay institute for physics in 1912 and the international Solvay institute for chemistry in 1913. These two later merged in 1963 into the international Solvay institutes for Physics and Chemistry. Famous past attendees have been Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Ernest Rutherford, Max Planck, Paul Langevin, and Neil Bohr.

The focus of these conferences has always been about getting researchers together to seek help reaching solutions. The Solvay Institutes reach these solutions based on discussion over presentations, and each one has a specific theme to focus on.

 The New Horizons lectures are for young chemists established in their field to give lectures on current their research and the challenges they see for their discipline. They are held annually with a different speaker from around the world.

Ying Diao was invited to Europe to give three lectures over the course of May 1-5, 2023, to a mixture of fellow professors, postdocs, and students. The first lecture was at Université Libre de Bruxelles where the International Solvay Institute is located. This lecture is titled “Cooperative Polymorphic Transitions for Dynamic Electronic Crystals.” At the other two universities, Université de Mons and Eindhoven University of Technology, Professor Diao gave a lecture titled “Non-Equilibrium Assembly of Functional Polymers for Sustainable Earth and Habitable Mars.”

Professor Diao’s lecture “Cooperative Polymorphic Transition for Dynamic Electronic Crystals” focuses on the discovery of a gear-like mechanism that helps polymers work together to change forms in organic semiconductor crystals. This ‘gear’ allowed for faster, more efficient switching of electronic properties using only lesser amounts of energy. That makes these crystals able to put up with more strain and become unusually deformable, which could be applied to wearable and flexible electronics.

Diao’s lecture “Non-Equilibrium Assembly of Functional Polymers for Sustainable Earth and Habitable Mars” is about the revolutionary nature of printing technologies. Printing technologies are used in the production of electronic and energy materials to lower the costs and make them more environmentally friendly. At the same time, printing can increase the throughput and agility of these materials.

“For instance, printing organic solar cells can potentially reduce energy payback time from 2-3 years to as short as 1 day!” said Professor Diao.

The only drawback is the need for control over the hierarchical structures down to the molecular scale. In order meet this need, Professor Diao and her team design interfaces and fluid flow central to all printing processes. Developing these methods allowed her team to control how planar or twisted the polymer electronics are and create smoother “highway” for electrons to travel or allow the light to more easily convert to electricity.

This printing technology not only can help make the world more sustainable but is applicable to further human space exploration by creating wearable electronics for remote monitoring of plant growth in outer space.

Professor Diao’s research can transform sustainable energies, medical tools, and space exploration, and the New Horizons Solvay lectures is an opportunity to share this with the world.