Ying Diao, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been chosen as a Lincoln Excellence for Assistant Professors (LEAP) Scholar for her outstanding contributions and potential in research and teaching.
Diao is one of six early career professors selected for the honor. Fellow awardees include Marsha Barrett in the Department of History; Vincent Cervantes in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese; Xin Liu in the Department of Astronomy; Ghassan Moussawi in the Departments of Gender and Women’s Studies and Sociology; and Sepideh Sadaghiani in the Department of Psychology.
Martin Camargo, associate dean for humanities and interdisciplinary programs in the College of LAS, said that the LEAP Award is granted to faculty early in their career based on scholarly productivity and contributions to the educational mission of their departments and the College of LAS. The selected LEAP scholars will hold the title for two years and receive $5,000 in discretionary research funding for each of those two years.
Diao has been on the U of I faculty since 2015. She and members of her research group have been conducting imaginative research involving materials chemistry, molecular electronics, and biomedical sciences. Her research draws inspiration from many disciplines to advance molecular assembly technology, with potential for transformative impact on electronics, clean and renewable energy, and healthcare.
Her work has been frequently featured in science journals and news media such as the Science Magazine, Nature Materials, American Chemical Society, ScienceDaily, Royal Society of Chemistry, Materials Research Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2016, she was named to MIT Technology Review’s annual list of Innovators Under 35. Diao received her PhD in chemical engineering from MIT in 2011.
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