Dr. Li Yang joins UT-ORII as a Research Associate Professor in developing materials for extreme applications with a focus on fusion environments. Her research program covers the design and modeling of nuclear related materials using quantum mechanics-based computational calculations, molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations. Her current interests are in superconducting magnet materials used to confine plasma in nuclear fusion reactors and structural materials in fission and fusion reactors. The goal of Dr Yang’s research is to develop materials from atomic levels and predict their performance in nuclear reactors.

Dr. Yang received her PhD in condensed matter physics from University of Electronic Science & Technology of China (UESTC) in Dec 2007 and worked for two years at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). From 2017 to 2025, Dr. Yang worked as a Research Scientist in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). She collaborates extensively with researchers at PNNL, University of Michigan, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and other institutions. She mentored many undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers. As of 2024, Dr. Yang has published over 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals including Nature Communications, Nuclear Fusion, Acta Materialia, Applied Physics Letters, Physical Review B, Nanoscale, Journal of Nuclear Materials, and others.