Yifan Wang | Stanford Energy Fellow – Sustainable Steel Manufacturing

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Yifan Wang, a researcher from China who completed his PhD in solid mechanics at Stanford's Department of Mechanical Engineering, has recently shifted his academic focus toward chemical metallurgy during his postdoctoral research. His primary goal is to address the significant environmental impact of the steel industry, which currently accounts for ten percent of global carbon emissions. To tackle this challenge, Wang is investigating hydrogen-based direct iron reduction, a promising technology that holds the potential to reduce carbon emissions in steelmaking by approximately sixty percent. To advance this clean technology, Wang employs advanced microscopy technologies and sophisticated computer simulation tools to understand the reaction mechanisms at the atomic scale. This fellowship provided him with a unique opportunity to collaborate with faculty advisors from diverse departments and disciplines, fostering the development of new research ideas through interdisciplinary perspectives. Beyond his technical work, he found great value in the rich community of the Energy Postdoctoral Fellows, where frequent exchanges of ideas, workshops, and interactions helped him build lasting friendships and research collaborations that were instrumental to his professional growth. Wang emphasizes that the transition to clean energy is a global endeavor requiring the involvement of various societal sectors, including research institutes, technology leaders, governments, and industrial partners. Through this fellowship, he gained valuable insights by engaging with experts from these different fields, which broadened his mindset beyond the typical constraints of laboratory experiments. These interactions allowed him to consider the complexities of the clean energy transition from multiple angles, shaping a more holistic approach to solving real-world problems that integrates scientific discovery with practical application. Looking ahead, Wang will move to the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology as an assistant professor, carrying forward the interdisciplinary mindset he developed during his time at Stanford. He aims to bridge the gap between laboratory exploration and industrial applications, ensuring that his research contributes directly to the greater good of society. By pushing forward the impact of clean energy transitions, he hopes to accelerate the adoption of sustainable manufacturing practices and help create a more environmentally friendly future for the steel industry and beyond.

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My name is Yifan Wang. I came from China. I did my PhD here at Stanford Department of Mechanical Engineering studying uh solid mechanics. Um my PhD study focuses focused on understanding the theory and the mechanisms [music] behind the mechanical properties of solid materials. But during my postdoc uh research, I shifted my research focus into chemical metallurgy. >> [music] >> So, currently the steel industry is uh occupying 10% of the global carbon emission. I'm looking into a uh promising new technology >> [music] >> called hydrogen-based direct iron reduction that can potentially cut 60% of the carbon emission >> [music] >> um in for the steelmaking industry. So, what I am doing for my postdoc research is developing [music] advanced microscopy technologies as well as >> [music] >> uh advanced computer simulation and modeling tools to help us to understanding what is happening [music] at the atomic scale and the mechanisms of the hydrogen uh reduction reaction that is being [music] used in the in this clean technology. Um so, during this fellowship, [music] I got the chance to work with uh two faculty advisors from different [music] departments and disciplines. Um so, I got the chance to talk a lot with them uh >> [music] >> developing uh new research ideas from the point of view of different backgrounds and different uh research profiles. >> [music] >> Um that I I feel this is a very unique opportunity of this fellowship. The Energy Postdoctoral Fellow community [music] is a rich community consists of uh researchers from different backgrounds. Um [music] so, we had a lot of opportunities to exchange ideas, uh communications, and having workshops um together uh during [music] these um times that I got uh, many good friends as well as uh, >> [music] >> research collaborators. That is a really a unforgettable experience for me. Clean energy transition, in my opinion, is a global endeavor that involves uh, many sectors [music] in the society including uh, research institutes, technology leaders, um, [music] the government as well as uh, industrial partners. Fortunately, during this uh, fellowship we got a lot [music] of chance to talk to many people coming from these sectors uh, which provides their unique perspectives >> [music] >> um, from different sectors to us which we usually don't think about when we're doing experiments >> [music] >> uh, in the lab. Um, so I think that shapes uh, mindset >> [music] >> for me um, um, to think about the clean energy transition differently. Um, so after this fellowship I'm I will move to Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology as [music] a assistant professor. I will bring along with this mindset um, to bridge the lab [music] exploration uh, with uh, with the industry uh, applications uh, and the greater good of [music] the um, society um, to really push forward um, the impact for um, the clean energy [music] transition.