Hanyu Zhu on Quantum Materials and Clear Communication

Hanyu Zhu, Rice University assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering (MSNE), explores materials’ electronic properties that must be understood more through quantum than classical physics. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science describes the magic of quantum materials  as resulting from electronic interactions that begin at the atomic and subatomic scale - where solid matter takes on more wavelike properties.

Read the full story about his research and how his courses incorporate resources that help students become better writers and communicators in the ACTIVATE Engineering Communication Program website.

Some of my favorite highlights include:

"One of our ultimate research goals is to find materials that make computers work more and eat less, in terms of electricity," said Zhu.

His interest is in materials’ “quantum,” as opposed to “classical,” properties —such as coherent superposition and entanglement— that can potentially create powerful electronic devices, but these properties are also fragile in common materials.

“That fragility may be why most people don’t apply quantum materials in large scale today, but that may change as we continually see new functions emerging by modifying existing materials.”

Zhu’s quantum research grew from his foundation in materials engineering principles, and he enjoys teaching MSNE courses to undergraduate and graduate students at Rice. In addition to materials science basics, both courses emphasize the development of clear communication skills.

“The primary goal of my junior laboratory for undergraduate students is to give them first-hand experience in working as a materials engineer. In real industrial settings, it is equally important to generate data and to translate the data to value,” said Zhu. 

“Typically, students imagine a lab course as one where people get dirty and sit at long tables doing tedious work. But I found that the Junior Lab gives students the best chance to holistically practice what they are learning. They can apply their knowledge and test in a realistic environment.  

“Whether it succeeds or fails, the students have to document their process and present their findings to various audiences - including advisors, peers in the scientific community, and industry representatives interested in their projects.”

Over the semester, the students focus on platforms for material property prioritizing or material specification and log their experiments and outcomes according to engineering standards. Then Zhu has them translate their raw documentation into a variety of formats, including non-technical genres like executive summaries. He said learning to explain what their data means to that type of audience is good practice for communicating the potential value they bring to the company that hires them.

“That is actually how I met Tracy Volz,” he said. “Her ACTIVATE Engineering Communication training is an integral part of our courses. She’s helped a lot of engineering students develop their communication skills and improve their presentations. Our projects can get very technical, but Tracy brings all the experience of her professional training team into our classrooms and her workshops make my students better writers.”

Read the rest of the story in the ACTIVATE Engineering Communication Program website, to learn how Zhu utilizes his lab notebooks to communicate with himself. He is also candid about his graduate school 'failures' and how he intentionally challenged himself with multiple risky projects rather than play it safe by focusing on only one or two with more likely outcomes.

“I thought I might learn more than the people who only did ‘successful’ projects because they would have fewer case studies at the end of their program. If I was less concerned about my success rate, I’d have a larger sample of data from which to learn,” said Zhu.