The Yang Lab works on sustainable solutions for energy storage and electrification. We are interested in low-cost, fast-charging, long-lasting battery materials and in minimizing waste through green, near-circular recycling approaches. Our computationally driven work is focused on (1) thermodynamics and kinetics of polycrystalline electrodes, (2) stability at electrochemical interfaces, and (3) rational design of green solvents for recycling critical metals found in batteries. To tackle these challenges, we use first-principles calculations and machine learning, grounded by electrochemical experiments.
Julia Yang, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech. Her research has enabled fundamental understanding of battery materials by advancing computational approaches to resolve transport in disordered electrodes and explain reactivity in organic electrolytes. She is a co-author on more than 14 publications and four patents, a recipient of the Harvard University Center for the Environment Fellowship (2022-2024), and a NextProf Nexus alum (2023). She is deeply committed to educating the next generation of diverse minds by prioritizing equity, inclusivity, and belonging, starting from within the classroom and beyond.
Prof. Yang received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, with an additional major in Physics, from Carnegie Mellon University and her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from U.C. Berkeley as an NDSEG Fellow under the guidance of Prof. Gerbrand Ceder. During her graduate studies, she was an AI Resident with X, the Moonshot Factory. She led postdoctoral work at Harvard University as an Environmental Fellow working with Prof. Boris Kozinsky and collaborating with Prof. Ah-Hyung Alissa Park.
Professor Yang’s teaching interests emphasize core chemical and biomolecular engineering principles at both undergraduate and graduate levels. She focuses on areas such as chemical engineering thermodynamics. Her instruction integrates fundamental theory with practical applications to prepare students for advanced study and professional practice in engineering. Professor Yang actively engages students in learning processes that develop analytical and problem-solving skills relevant to chemical and biomolecular engineering.
Ph.D., University of California Berkeley, 2022
B.S., Carnegie Mellon University, 2016
NextProf Nexus (2023)
Harvard University Center for the Environment Fellowship (2022)
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (2016)
JH Yang, AWS Ooi, ZAH Goodwin, Y Xie, J Ding, S Falletta, AHA Park, ..., Room-temperature decomposition of the ethaline deep eutectic solvent, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 16 (12), 3039-3046, 2025
JH Yang, X Rao, AWS Ooi, Buried No Longer: Recent Computational Advances in Explicit Interfacial Modeling of Lithium-Based All-Solid-State Battery Materials, Frontiers in Energy Research 13, 1621807, 2025
R Jacobs, D Morgan, S Attarian, J Meng, C Shen, Z Wu, CY Xie, JH Yang, ..., A Practical Guide to Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials - Status and Future, Current Opinion in Materials Solid State and Materials Science 35, 101214, 2025.
ZAH Goodwin, MB Wenny, JH Yang, A Cepellotti, J Ding, K Bystrom, BR Duschatko, Transferability and Accuracy of Ionic Liquid Simulations with Equivariant Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 15, 30, 2024.
JH Yang and G Ceder, Activated Internetwork Pathways in Partially‐Disordered Spinel Cathode Materials with Ultrahigh Rate Performance, Advanced Energy Materials 13, 4, 2023.