Interview with Dr. Ayala Lampel, Prof. Dr. Hai-Tian Zhang and Dr. Yu Song—2024 Nanomaterials Young Investigator Award Winners
The Nanomaterials Young Investigator Award was established in 2018 to acknowledge the achievements of young investigators in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. All winners were chosen by the journal’s award committee.
Let us hear their opinions and hear about their experiences with scientific research and awards.
Meet Dr. Ayala Lampel—Winner of the Nanomaterials 2024 Young Investigator Award
Name: Dr. Ayala Lampel
Affiliation: Tel Aviv University, Israel
Research interests: molecular materials based on ordered/disordered supramolecular peptides, including melanin-mimicking materials
1. Could you give a brief introduction of yourself to the readers? Could you introduce your current research direction and provide an update on your progress?
I am an Associate Professor in the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at the Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Israel. After completing my Ph.D. in biotechnology at Tel Aviv University, I moved to New York for a postdoctoral fellowship at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), City University of New York (CUNY), where I focused on developing molecular materials based on ordered/disordered supramolecular peptides, including melanin-mimicking materials.
In 2019, I established my independent research group at Tel Aviv University, initially focusing on designing biomolecular condensates using minimalistic peptide building blocks. Over time, our research expanded to developing multicomponent synthetic condensates from diverse building blocks for drug delivery, biosensing, and biocatalysis regulation. Additionally, we explored their application in controlling reactivity and regulating organic reactions, including an ERC-funded project on designer condensates for green chemistry applications.
2. Which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
The field of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and designed condensates has flourished over the past decade. An increasing number of researchers from supramolecular chemistry, systems chemistry, and bioinspired materials are exploring and developing phase-separated materials. I believe these emerging materials will remain a key area of interest in the coming years, particularly in advancing nanotechnology and biotechnology applications.
3. Do you have any advice for aspiring young researchers looking to make a meaningful impact in their respective fields?
My advice is simple: if you truly want to pursue an academic career, go for it. Tune out distractions and doubts, and trust your inner voice. Academia and science require persistence—trying, failing, and trying again. Try not to be discouraged by the failures; just keep moving forward. Whenever I feel frustrated by failure, I remind myself how fortunate I am to work in a curiosity-driven, knowledge-seeking field.
One more piece of advice, related to my answer to the next question: when choosing a Ph.D. or postdoc lab, prioritize finding an advisor who is also an excellent mentor. This may be even more important than any other factor in selecting a lab.
4. As the winner of this award, is there something you want to express or someone you wish to thank most?
I would like to express my gratitude to my Ph.D. advisor, Prof. Ehud Gazit, and my postdoctoral advisor, Prof. Rein Ulijn, for their exceptional support and mentorship. Their dedication and passion for science, commitment to their research groups, and genuine and thoughtful care for their students and mentees have profoundly shaped my approach as a mentor.
Meet Prof. Dr. Hai-Tian Zhang —Winner of the Nanomaterials 2024 Young Investigator Award
Name: Prof. Dr. Hai-Tian Zhang
Affiliation: Beihang University, China
Research interests: regulation of functional phase-change materials and application in brain-like computing devices; magnetic functional materials; nanomaterials
1. Could you give a brief introduction of yourself to the readers? Could you introduce your current research direction and provide an update on your progress?
My name is Hai-Tian Zhang, and I am a professor at Beihang University, Beijing, China. After obtaining my Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University, I worked as a Gilbreth Research Fellow at Purdue University, before joining Beihang University as a faculty member.
My research introduces a novel approach to bridging the gap between artificial intelligence devices and the human brain. By precisely manipulating the motion of hydrogen dopants in strongly correlated oxide thin films, I have developed artificial neuron and synapse hardware that features ultra-low energy consumption and ultra-fast responses. Traditional oxide neural devices rely on the movement of large cations (e.g., Ag+) and anions (e.g., O2-), consuming a high amount of energy at the pJ level, which significantly exceeds the fJ-level energy required for the human brain. In contrast, I have opted to work with hydrogen ions (protons) that are only 0.01% of the size of O2-. By taking advantage of their minuscule size and extremely low movement-energy barrier, the devices I am developing require only fJ-level energy for nanosecond neural computations, making their efficiency comparable to that of the human brain. Moreover, I am further developing devices with adaptive information processing and storage functionalities, achieving exceptional performance during complex environmental changes. My major achievements are summarized as follows:
- The fabrication of neuromorphic devices with ultra-low energy consumption (fJ level) and ultra-fast response (ns level) comparable to the human brain, drastically reducing energy consumption and boosting computing efficiency;
- The creation of artificial neurons and synapses capable of adapting to dynamic environments, enabling hardware-level adaptive function switching and information processing without reliance on AI algorithms, thereby greatly simplifying device structures and improving energy efficiency;
- The introduction of breakthrough functionalities in AI through various novel neuromorphic devices, particularly demonstrating performance that far exceeds traditional neural networks in handling complex environmental changes (e.g., a 250% improvement in decision-making ability, and a 300% enhancement in dynamic information-processing capability).
2. Could you please share some particularly interesting or unexpected results you have found during your research experience? Also, what is your opinion on interdisciplinary research?
My entire research journey can be described as a continuous process of interdisciplinary integration. During my Ph.D. studies at Penn State University, I focused on condensed matter physics and electronic devices, successfully developing the world's best-performing RF switches and logic devices in terms of loss and frequency performance at the time. Through this work, I was introduced to the concept of neuromorphic computing devices. After earning my Ph.D., I combined electronic devices with brain science and successfully secured a spot in the highly competitive Gilbreth Scholars Program at Purdue University (with a global acceptance rate of about 2%). This marked the beginning of my independent research in this novel and highly interdisciplinary field.
In multidisciplinary research, it is inevitable to encounter unfamiliar problems and challenges. At these times, it is essential to focus on the main issues and prioritize them effectively. Additionally, broad communication and collaboration with scientists from other fields are crucial.
3. Which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
I believe the exploration of brain-like computing devices is of particular interest. As Wu Zhaohui, then Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, emphasized, discovering new mechanisms to overcome computational limitations has become one of the most urgent issues. Building brain-like computing devices is one of the main approaches to tackling this challenge (People’s Daily, January 11, 2022).
First, energy efficiency is one of the core challenges we face. Traditional von Neumann architecture consumes a significant amount of energy when performing complex computational tasks, as most energy is wasted on data transmission due to the separation of memory and processing. Brain-like computing, however, simulates biological neural networks and adopts a novel integrated memory-computation approach, fundamentally eliminating the energy waste associated with data transmission. My development of neuromorphic brain-like computing devices is the first to achieve artificial neural activity with femtojoule-level energy consumption, significantly reducing the energy demands of computing systems and providing a new solution to this global issue.
Second, improving computational speed is another major challenge. Traditional computing systems struggle to meet the demands of real-time processing and efficient computation due to their reliance on serial processing for large-scale data. Brain-like computing, through massive parallel processing, can greatly enhance computational speed. The neuromorphic devices I have developed not only respond to sub-nanosecond signals with exceptional speed and precision but also mimic the firing patterns of biological neurons, achieving efficient information transmission and processing. This offers a new pathway to overcoming the speed limitations of traditional computing.
Moreover, adaptive learning in artificial intelligence is a significant hurdle that I am addressing. Traditional computers rely on pre-programmed instructions to perform specific tasks, lacking flexibility and adaptability. Therefore, I have proposed an adaptive neuromorphic device based on ultra-low power and ultra-fast operation, capable of adjusting to ever-changing environments and task requirements, autonomously modifying response states, and reallocating computational resources. This hardware's enhanced adaptability in complex and dynamic environments lays the foundation for intelligent computing.
4. Do you have any advice for aspiring young researchers looking to make a meaningful impact in their respective fields?
Adhere to first-principles thinking.
5. What is your opinion of the open access model of publishing?
As a researcher, I have mixed but generally positive views on open access publishing. While I fully support making scientific knowledge freely available to accelerate discovery and benefit the public, the current implementation creates some practical hurdles. Open access definitely helps our work reach wider audiences and it is particularly valuable for bridging gaps between disciplines and helping researchers in developing countries access critical studies. That said, the high publishing fees can be prohibitive for early-career scientists or those in less-funded fields, creating an uneven playing field. There is also the lingering issue of predatory journals muddying the waters, which makes some colleagues hesitant to fully embrace the model. Overall though, despite the growing pains, I believe open access is moving academic publishing in the right direction by prioritizing knowledge sharing over profit.
Meet Dr. Yu Song —Winner of the Nanomaterials 2024 Young Investigator Award
Name: Dr. Yu Song
Affiliation: City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Research interests: bioelectronics; wearable sensors; digital medicine; energy harvesters; advanced manufacturing
1. Could you give a brief introduction to yourself to the readers? Could you introduce your current research direction and provide an update on your progress?
I am currently a Presidential Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at City University of Hong Kong. Before joining CityU, I was a postdoctoral scholar in Prof. Wei Gao’s group at Caltech and I received my Ph.D. at Peking University under the supervision of Prof. Haixia (Alice) Zhang. I have authored over 70 publications (23 as first/corresponding author) including Science, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Electronics, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Science Advances, etc., with over 8500 citations and a h-index of 40, with 18 US and China patents. I have received over 30 awards, including the 2024 Forbes 30Under30, the 2024 Microsystems and Nanoengineering Young Scientist Award, the 2019 Leadership Scholarship (Committee of 100), and the 2020 Excellent Doctoral Dissertation by the Chinese Institute of Electronics.
Currently, my research interests focus on wearable bioelectronics for personalized healthcare, covering multimodal biosensors, advanced manufacturing, and digital medicine. We aim to develop biosensors for the continuous monitoring of key biomarkers related to chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and kidney diseases.
2. Which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
Personalized healthcare. At this stage, wearable bioelectronics for personalized healthcare has demonstrated immense potential in translational applications and industrialization prospects, which aims to address the grand challenges in the healthcare field and revolutionize conventional medical devices. This endeavor enables active disease monitoring and at-home health management and offers new possibilities for the achievement of a healthy society, which will inevitably become the new-era disruptive force and developmental trend.
3. As the winner of this award, is there something you want to express or someone you wish to thank most?
I want to show my sincere appreciation to my advisors, Prof. Wei Gao from the California Institute of Technology and Prof. Haixia Zhang from Peking University. Both of them provide an impressive stage for me to investigate, to think, and to challenge myself. They are role models, teaching me how to chase my goals and accomplish my achievements.
4. What is your opinion of the open access model of publishing?
I think it is quite necessary. It provides a great chance for a broader audience to come into contact with the latest research and to inspire ideas from multidisciplinary subjects. Everyone can have access to the research they are interested in, and it is not limited due to resources. I believe this will accelerate scientific progress gradually and subtly.