The beauty of materials, which exist in nature or are created by human ingenuity, lies in their intrinsic aesthetic, tactile, and sensory qualities. By embracing the principle of “materials honesty” — recognizing and acknowledging both the perfection and imperfections of metals and ceramics, from the macroscopic to the atomic scale — science reveals the elegance of their inherent structures.

In pursuit of the beauty of materials, embracing both their perfection and imperfections, Dr. Song and her group investigate, design, and engineer materials and devices from the atomic scale to the system level, with the keen purpose of transforming fundamental scientific understanding into innovative technologies. In doing so, we create materials whose beauty emerges not despite their imperfections but because of them, and we transform natural complexity into purposeful design.

In the harmony between perfection and imperfection, we have discovered and continue to discover, a profound beauty that inspires scientific discovery, technological innovation, and human creativity.

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Dr. Song is currently the George B. Berry Chair Professor of Engineering at West Virginia University.

Dr. Song is the director of the Hydrogen and Clean Energy Center, which is led by a group of faculty, scientists, and students clustered at the Statler College of Engineering, WVU, in the Wild and Wonderful mountain state of West Virginia. The visions, missions, members, and the recent news of Hydrogen and Clean Energy Center are available at this link https://www.hydrogenandcleanenergy.com.

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Prof. Song is a materials scientist with a solid background in advanced transmission electron microscopy, physical metallurgy, and electroceramics. She has over 25 years of experience in advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and has operated over 20 different TEM and scanning TEM (STEM) with or without correctors. She has performed TEM/STEM analysis of different materials with the keen objectives of exploring new physics and materials science from microns to atomic scale.

 

Prof. Song’s primary research interests lie in energy-related material systems for energy generation, energy conversion, and energy transmission.  Prof. Song received her bachelor's and Master's degrees in the field of physical metallurgy with the focus on the mechanical behavior of metals. She continued her education in the field of physical metallurgy for her Ph. D degrees and with her Ph.D. thesis on the metallic materials for rechargeable Metal-Hydride batteries. After obtaining Ph.D. degree, she spent 8 years studying various superconductors and compound semiconductors. Since joining WVU in the year 2008, Prof. Song started her new research directions of working on electroceramics with focus on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Energy Conversion and Thermoelectric Materials & Devices for Power Generation. 

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The peer peer-reviewed Journal publications from Dr. Song and her group include those that have appeared in Nature, Nature Materials, Nano Letters, Physics Review, Applied Physics Letters, and ACS Catalysis.  

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Professional Experiences

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2021-present: George B. Berry Chair Professor of Engineering at West Virginia University

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2018-present: Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University.

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2014-2018: Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University.

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2008-2014: Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University.

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2006-2008: Research Scientist, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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2003-2006: Research Scientist, Applied Superconductivity Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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2000-2003: Research Associate, Applied Superconductivity Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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1998-2000: Post Doctoral Fellow, Departemento de Engenharia de Materiais, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa, Portugal.​

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Teaching courses 

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• Crystallography & Crystal Analysis, (Graduate students course), MAE-580, West Virginia University, offered every fall semester since the year 2008.

• Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Materials, (Graduate students course), MAE-580, West Virginia University, offered every Spring semester since the year 2019.

• Microscopy of Materials, (Graduate students course), MAE-649, West Virginia University, offered every Spring semester since the year 2021.

• Mechanics of Materials, (undergraduate students course), MAE-243, West Virginia University offered every spring semester year 2009-2015.

• Intermediate Mechanics of Materials, (undergraduate students course), MAE-343, West Virginia University, offered in the fall semester of the year 2012. 

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Professional Services

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• Panelist and reviewer of NSF, DOE, Army Research Office, and ACS Petroleum Research Fund