Dr. Xiao-Ying Yu obtained her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the University of Michigan. She joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as a distinguished scientist and the lead of the advanced nuclear materials group in 2022 after a 16-year tenure as a senior scientist and chief scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

In her research efforts, Dr. Yu works on development of fusion and fission materials and technology. In the fundamental science world, Dr. Yu’s research focuses on characterization of materials in energy, biology, and material sciences using microfluidics and multimodal techniques. She invented new instrumentation and methodologies to study separation and materials at the micro and nanoscale that have resulted in multiple patents.

Besides, Dr. Yu leads active research efforts in nuclear safety analysis R&D. Dr. Yu has been a long-time contributor of the DOE NNSA emergency management program, supporting the development of two key products Protective Action Criterion (PAC) and Chemical Mixture Methodology (CMM) between 2007 and 2022.

Dr. Yu has been applying machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches in her research in both materials’ development and in various engineering applications. Dr. Yu was the principal investigator of the prestigious R&D 100 and FLC Technology Transfer Award. She has published 143 peer reviewed articles with an H index of 42.

Dr. Yu is a joint faculty member of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is also an associated faculty with the Bredesen Center and the Institute for a Secure & Sustainable Environment (ISSE).