Yimin A. Wu

Founder, Materials Interface Foundry

Yimin A Wu, Principal Investigator, Materials Interface Lab
Yimin Wu, PhD is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology at the University of Waterloo.

He obtained his PhD from the University of Oxford in 2013. From 2013-2014, he was a SinBeRise postdoc research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Before he joined Waterloo in 2019, he worked as a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory and a research assistant professor at University of Illinois at Chicago. Professor Wu is the director of Materials Interfaces Foundry (MIF) at the University of Waterloo. His current research focuses on the materials interfaces for energy, climate, sensing, and computing. His research group has received funding from government agencies, including Natural Science and Engineering Research Council, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Research Fund, Mitacs, and National Research Council Canada.

Professor Wu has authored and co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed journal papers, which includes Nature, Nature Energy (x2) and Nature communications. Wu is also listed as an inventor on one US/international patent. His research has been highlighted in the media over 360 times in total and covered by worldwide mainstream media, including Canadian Press, CBC news, the Independent, BNN Bloomberg, Fast Company, Science Daily and French Science Magazine. Professor Yimin Wu has delivered over 20 invited lectures across the world top universities and conferences in last five years.

Awards and honors

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Technology Review: 35 Innovators Under 35 Award Finalist (2020)                                          
  • SinBeRise Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of California, Berkeley (2013-2014)                         
  • EPSRC Doctoral Prize, United Kingdom (2012)
  • Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad (2012)
  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) International Doctoral Scholarship, United Kingdom (2008-2012)
  • Overseas Research Scholarship, United Kingdom (2010-2012)                                  
  • Wolfson China Scholarship, Wolfson Foundation (two winners per year) (2008-2010)                          
  • China Oxford Scholar, China Oxford Scholarship Fund (2008-2012)                                       
  • First Class Honor Degree for Excellent Undergraduate Student, WUT (2008)
  • The Best Bachelor Thesis Prize in Hubei Province, China (2008)                            
  • National Scholarship of China (2007)
  • First Class Academic Scholarship of WUT (2005-2008)                           

Contact information

Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering
200 University Ave W, Engineering 7-3418, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1
University of Waterloo
Tel: 519-888-4567 ext. 40185
Email: yimin.wu@uwaterloo.ca