Yangju Lin

Yangju Lin
Assistant Professor
Location: C2 163

Biography

Yangju Lin specializes in polymer research at the University of Waterloo. The overarching goal of his team is to leverage polymer design for sustainability solutions.

Yangju Lin obtained his B.S. (2012) in Chemistry and M.S. (2015) in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Xiamen University. During his M.S. research, he worked with Prof. Wengui Weng on self-healing and stress-sensing polymers. He later earned his Ph.D. (2020) under the guidance of Prof. Stephen Craig at Duke University, where he focused on the molecular-level engineering of stress-responsive materials. Yangju Lin conducted his postdoc in Zhenan Bao’s group at Stanford University, where he worked on the molecular design of polymer materials for batteries.

His research interests include mechanistic design of smart polymers (e.g., force-responsive polymers), sustainable polymer materials, (e.g., mechanically durable/resilient polymers, recyclable, and degradable polymers), polymers for battery materials, and polymers for smart devices. The team is passionate about bringing molecular insights into material properties and their performance in a device level, thereby manipulating the material utility through molecular-level tools.

Research Interests

  • Polymer Mechanochemistry
  • Mechanically Durable Polymers
  • Polymer Nanoparticles
  • Sustainable Polymers
  • Polymers for Battery Materials
  • Polymers for Wearable Devices

Education

  • 2020-2024, Postdoc, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, USA (Advisor: Prof. Zhenan Bao)
  • 2015-2020, PhD, Chemistry, Duke University, USA (Advisor: Prof. Stephen L. Craig)
  • 2012-2015, MS, Polymer Chemistry and Physics, Xiamen University, China (Advisor: Prof. Wengui Weng)
  • 2008-2012, BS, Chemistry, Xiamen University, China

Awards

  • 2023, Future Faculty Workshop, Texas A&M, USA
  • 2021, Soft Matter for All Symposium (Invited Speaker, Online), Princeton University, USA
  • 2017 and 2019, Burroughs Welcome Graduate Fellowship, Duke University

Selected/Recent Publications

Graduate studies