Our professors are leaders in their field. Jian-Min Zuo certainly fits that description. The Ivan Racheff Professor is set to receive the International Union of Crystallography’s Gjønnes Medal in Electron Crystallography, which recognizes an outstanding contribution to electron crystallography. Zuo will receive the medal and present the keynote lecture at the upcoming 26th Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography held in Melbourne, Australia from Aug. 22-29.
Written by Emily Jankauski
Jian-Min Zuo
URBANA, Ill. — Our professors are leaders in their field. Jian-Min Zuo certainly fits that description. The Ivan Racheff Professor is set to receive the International Union of Crystallography’s Gjønnes Medal in Electron Crystallography, which recognizes an outstanding contribution to electron crystallography.
Zuo will receive the medal and present the keynote lecture at the upcoming 26th Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography held in Melbourne, Australia from Aug. 22-29.
Electron crystallography probes materials’ structures using a small and bright electron beam. The method is complementary to X-ray diffraction, according to Zuo, allowing researchers to look at local structures in nanometer-sized crystal volumes.
Zuo began his career in electron crystallography during his graduate student days at Arizona State University, where he earned a doctorate in physics by studying crystal bonding in 1989. Since then, he has continued to improve the electron diffraction method and extended its applications to the advancements of science and technology.
“As technology pushes to make the transistor smaller and smaller, the device metrology has to have a way to make that happen,” Zuo said. “The electron beam techniques we developed are very useful for helping with the design, development and production of transistors.”
Over the years, the technique’s given Zuo its fair share of challenges.
“The electrons basically scatter off everything very strongly,” Zuo said, “so there’s a lot of things we have to solve to make the technique be quantitative.”
He’s broadened his scope in this effort since joining the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering faculty, extending electron crystallography to the examination of nanostructures and crystals with defects.
“It’s very important to explore the full potential of electron diffraction,” Zuo said. “We’re also applying this technique to other materials. We’re studying new high-entropy alloys, quantum materials, batteries and a lot of other stuff.”
While Zuo’s still exploring all electron crystallography has to offer, an acknowledgement like this means a great deal to him in looking back at all he’s accomplished.
“This award makes me realize people appreciate my work,” Zuo said. “That motivates me.”