Yet-Ming Chiang is the Kyocera Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). For the past 28 years he has managed a multidisciplinary research team focused on energy science and technology; electrochemical energy storage; processing and physical properties of advanced materials; surfaces and interfaces in solids; and electron microscopy of materials.
Chiang’s research ranges from fundamental materials phenomena to milestone-driven technology development programs. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Materials Research Society and American Ceramic Society. He has brought new technology through the innovation pipeline from basic research to technology startup, four times to date.
Chiang brought his MIT research on nanoscale olivine cathodes to commercial impact by co-founding A123 Systems in 2001. The company pioneered a new category of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with improved power, safety, and life compared with previous technology. This technology is now produced in large volume for applications ranging from cordless power tools, to HEVs and PHEVs, to grid-scale storage systems of many-MW scale.
In 1987, Chiang co-founded American Superconductor Corporation, which today manufactures high-temperature superconductor wire products and wind energy equipment.
