Jian-Min Zuo

Jian-Min Zuo is the Ivan Racheff Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds affiliations with the Materials Research Laboratory and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research focuses on structure-property relationships in advanced materials, including nanoparticles, semiconductors, and oxide interfaces, leveraging cutting-edge electron microscopy techniques such as ultrafast electron diffraction and aberration-corrected TEM.

Education: Ph.D. in Physics (Arizona State University, 1989), postdoctoral fellowships at ASU’s NSF Center for High-Resolution Electron Microscopy and international collaborations at institutions in Germany, Japan, and Norway. He co-authored influential books on electron microdiffraction and advanced TEM imaging.

Research Interests: Development of quantitative electron diffraction methods; structural analysis of nanomaterials, including supported nanoparticles and nanocrystals for energy applications; atomic-resolution imaging of defects and bonding; and characterization of semiconductor devices and defects. His work bridges materials science with applications in energy production and environmental technologies.

Articles Trends: Recent publications emphasize nanoscale structural analysis (4D-STEM, CE-STEM), spintronic materials, quantum emitter engineering, and defect dynamics in energy-related materials. His studies highlight interdisciplinary approaches combining microscopy, theory, and machine learning.

• Awards: Burton Award (2001), NSF CAREER Award (2005), China NSFC Overseas Collaboration Award (2007).
• Advising & Grants: Supervised over 20 graduate students; secured funding from NSF, DOE, and industry partnerships. Current opportunities include machine learning in microscopy and semiconductor defect analysis.
• Labs/Teams: Leads the Zuo Research Group, focusing on advanced electron microscopy techniques and their application to functional materials discovery.