Dr. Yinan Shu
Department of Chemistry
University of Minnesota
Photochemistry: Advancing our understanding of molecules and materials upon electronic excitations
Understanding the complex photochemical behaviors of molecules and materials is essential, not only for fundamental interests in controlling the chemical reactions, but also numerous practical applications such as optoelectronic materials and quantum materials. The process of matter-light interaction is highly non-equilibrium and ultrafast, making it difficult to directly monitor these processes experimentally. Therefore, computer simulation plays a critical role in understanding the behaviors of molecules and materials upon excitations. Revealing the photochemical and photophysical processes from an atom-by-atom perspective will help us design the next generation of optoelectronic materials. And ultimately achieve our goals, such as controlling chemical reactions and designing highly cost-effective solar materials. In this talk, I will introduce you a hierarchy of electronic structure theories and nuclear dynamics algorithms that we have developed over the years. These methods go beyond the state-of-the-art, and therefore can simulate photochemical processes more efficiently and accurately. Additionally, I will highlight some of the successful applications of our methods, ranging from optoelectronic materials to molecular photochemical reactions.
Yinan Shu
Yinan Shu is currently a research associate in Prof. Donald G. Truhlar’s group at University of Minnesota. Prior to working with Prof. Truhlar, he was a Ph.D. candidate in Prof. Benjamin G. Levine’s group at Michigan State University. His research focuses on various topics within theoretical and computational chemistry, including electronic structure theory, nonadiabatic dynamics, material science, chemical reactions, and machine learning. He has received 2020 ACS Phys Young Investigator Award (ACS Division of Physical Chemistry), 2020 Robin Hochstrasser Young Investigator Award (Chemical Physics, Elsevier), and 2021 Spring Wiley Computers in Chemistry Outstanding Postdoc Award (ACS Division of Computers in Chemistry).
331 Smith Hall