Chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying Diao of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been named a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers.
Diao has been on the faculty at Illinois since 2015, where her research focuses on understanding the assembly of functional polymers and innovating printing approaches that enable structural control down to the molecular and nanoscale to enable next-generation electronics and greener energy.
"I feel thrilled to receive PECASE awarded by President Biden," Diao said. "I am so grateful for the highly collaborative and supportive environment Illinois offers which lowers the barrier to success. Team science makes it a breeze to pivot into new exciting directions. I have been really fortunate to have inspiring mentors and talented mentees every step of the way, and have worked with program managers in federal funding agencies who are deeply invested in the success of early career scientists."
Diao has received many awards for her work. She was named to the list of Technology Review Innovators Under 35 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry, a NASA Early Career Faculty Award and the AIChE Allen P. Colburn Award for Excellence in Publications. Diao also is affiliated with chemistry, materials science and engineering, the Beckman Institute and the Materials Research Laboratory at Illinois.
Three other Illinois researchers – health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn and computer science professor Edgar Solomonik – are also PECASE recipients this year.
Editor’s note: To reach Ying Diao, email yingdiao@illinois.edu. To reach Marni Boppart, email mboppart@illinois.edu. To reach Edgar Solomonik, email solomon2@illinois.edu. To reach Barry Bradlyn, email bbradlyn@illinois.edu.