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Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 Eighth Street, Troy, New York 12180-3590 USA

Telephone:
(518) 276-6310
Fax: (518) 276-6680
E-mail: physics@rpi.edu

Gail and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70 Senior Constellation Professor of Physics, Information Technology, and Entrepreneurship

Contact:

(518) 276-6127
zhangs9@rpi.edu

Home Page: http://www.rpi.edu/~zhangs9/

Education:

Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley, 1989 (Physics).
M.S., University of California at Berkeley, 1985 (Physics).
B.S., Jilin University, Changchun, China, 1982 (Electronic Science and Engineering).

Career Highlights:

1989-91: Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Xerox PARC, Palo Alto.
1991-94: Research Associate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
1994-97: Staff Scientist, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
1997-00: Senior Scientist I, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
2000-07: Senior Scientist II, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
2006-    : Adjunct Professor, Jilin University, Changchun, China.

Research Interests:

My research objective is to help solving urgent national needs in sustainable energy, environment, technology, and security by quantum-mechanical computations. Research areas cover first-principles structural and electronic properties of a broad range of solid-state materials from crystalline, amorphous semiconductors, metals, to various nanostructures. In particular, we study 1) the physics and chemistry behind the formation of novel nanostructures such as SiC spiral helixes. 2) Defect and doping physics. This down-to-the-earth science can be challenging and has the most relevance to today’s hi-tech such as inexpensive solar cells and widegap electronics. 3) Hydrogen storage. The physics of molecular adsorption and fast proton transport in nanostructures can lead to new directions for future hydrogen economy. 4) New method development. We recently developed a van der Waals energy method to treat weak interactions in complex organic and bio systems efficiently and accurately. We also explore cyber-enabled discoveries of new physics and chemistry by utilizing the mega computation facilities at RPI’s CCNI.

Published over 200 peer reviewed scientific papers with some 5,500 total citations (Hirsch Index = 41). Citations for 2008 alone hits 1,000.

Selected Publications:

1. K. Lee, et al., “Hole-Mediated Hydrogen Spillover Mechanism in Metal-Organic Frameworks”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 236101 (2010).

2. X. Gao, S. B. Zhang, Y. Zhao, S. Nagase, “A Nanoscale Jigsaw-Puzzle Approach to Large π-Conjugated Systems”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49, 6764 (2010).

3. X. Q. Liu, et al., “New Structural Picture of the Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ Phase-Change Alloy”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 025501 (2011).

4. G. Wang, et al., “Topological Insulator Thin Films of Bi2Te3 with Controlled Electronic Structure”, Adv. Mat. 23, 2929 (2011).

5. X.-B. Li, et al., “Role of electronic excitation in the amorphization of Ge-Sb-Te alloys”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 015501 (2011).

6. T.-L. Chan, D. West, and S. B. Zhang, “Limits on passivating defects in semiconductors: the case of Si edge dislocations”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 035503 (2011).