Li Yang

Li Yang

Professor of Physics
Albert Gordon Hill Professor of Physics
PHD, GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
BA, BEIJING NORMAL UNIVERSITY
research interests:
  • Condensed Matter Theory
  • Material Physics

contact info:

mailing address:

  • Washington University

    MSC 1105-109-03

    One Brookings Drive

    St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

Professor Yang is interested in combining physics models and large-scale simulations to understand quantum mechanics in materials and predict novel properties for device and energy applications.

With the fast advance of computational capability, Yang's group focuses on developing and employing the large-scale, first-principles simulations without adjustable parameters for understanding electronic structures and excited-state properties of solids and further predicting novel electronic, optical, thermal, and topological properties for applications. Yang's research tries to answer a few fundamental questions of broad applications: 1) How electrons interact with each other and impact excited states, such as optical properties; 2) How these fundamental excitations, such as quasiparticles, excitons, plasmons, and phonons, interact and couple with each other to form novel excitations that decide electronic, thermal, and optical properties of materials; 3) How these excited states are modified by quantum confinement of reduced-dimensional structures and how to engineer them for novel transport and energy applications; 4) Understanding electrical and magnetic polarization in materials and how to realize them in reduced-dimensional structures for next-generation transistors and memory devices. Professional History 2020-present: Professor, Washington University  2015-2020: Associate Professor, Washington University 2009-2015: Assistant Professor, Washington University 2006-2009: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley Awards & Honors 2017 The Highly Cited Researchers List by Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science) 2015 The Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF)

Classical Electrodynamics I (Physics 505)

Classical electromagnetism in microscopic and macroscopic forms: electromagnetic fields of and forces between charged particles. Applications to electrostatic, magnetostatic, electrodynamic, and radiation problems.