SFU CHEMISTRY PROF NAMED TO ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA

Zuo-Guang Ye, a scientist in SFU’s Department of Chemistry has been named to the Royal Society of Canada for his work in shaping the development, standardization and commercialization of novel electronic materials.

Ye’s research focuses on classes of multi-functional materials that exhibit coupling between different functionalities. He explains that these processes can include, “Electro-mechanical coupling leading to piezoelectric effects that convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa, and magneto-electric coupling leading to multiferroic materials that can respond to both electricity and magnetization.”These materials form the basis of devices such as sensors, actuators, energy harvesters and high-density memory. “They are crucial for the next generation of technologies in medical imaging, diagnosis and treatment, underwater survey, space exploration and the Internet of Things," he says.

As a young child, Ye says that he has always been curious  — wanting to know how and why things work. Starting with rudimentary experiments at first, Ye eventually came to an understanding that “human civilization is often defined by the invention of materials, from the Stone Age, to the Bronze Age and to the Iron Age – arguably, we are living in a “Functional Materials Age.”

Ye entered the field of material sciences to explore the functionalities of synthetic materials that drive the advancement of technologies, industries and society.  He says, “As a materials scientist, I use the crystal chemistry concepts to "play" with various atoms, ions and molecules, to design their building blocks and to synthesize the materials in different forms.”

Through the characterization of the functionalities of materials, scientists like Ye can understand, investigate and measure the detailed structures of physical properties through a variety of techniques.

Membership in the Royal Society is Canada’s highest academic honour and Ye has been awarded membership in the Society along with 7 other SFU researchers.

Photos: http://at.sfu.ca/eizctI
Royal Society of Canada news release: http://at.sfu.ca/cQeKZm
SFU News: http://at.sfu.ca/wfcBah