Hsiu-Yu Yu | Cornell Engineering

When Hsiu-Yu Yu left Taiwan four years ago to begin her Ph.D. studies in chemical engineering at Cornell, she thought she knew what NIMs were. Skiptomaincontent Search Close BacktoSpotlightsHsiu-YuYuHometown:HsinchuCounty,Taiwan ChemicalEngineering WhenHsiu-YuYuleftTaiwanfouryearsagotobeginherPh.D.studiesinchemicalengineeringatCornell,shethoughtsheknewwhatNIMswere.“Ithoughtthisisbasicallyacolloidalsystemsincewehaveparticles,andthecoronawouldnotbeanythingdifferentfromthosesystemsthathavealreadybeendiscovered,”shesays.ButYusoonrealized,withhelpfromadviserDonKoch,thatNIMsweredifferentandstudyingthemwouldrequirenewtechniques.“Sincethesystemdoesn’thaveadditionalsolventandthecoronaitselfprovidesthefluidity,thenthewayofinvestigatingtheinterparticleforceswouldhavetobedifferent,”shesays.Whilethatmadeherworkmoredifficult,italsopresentedopportunities.“AtfirstIdidspendalotoftimetryingtofigureoutwhatkindofapproachI’mgoingtoexploreindoingthisresearch.AtsomepointIfeltfrustrated,”saysYu.“ButProfessorKochencouragedmetothinkaboutthisinthewaythatwell,youmightthinkit’sstrangeitdoesn’thavesolvent,butontheotherhandyoucanlearnmoreaboutapplyingdifferentmethodsininvestigatingthissystem.” NIMsweresonew,scientistslikeYuwerejusttryingtounderstandthem.Shefocusedontheirequilibriumandtransportproperties.“Myworkistounderstandthismaterialinatheoreticalway,”shesays.“Itturnsoutthatthissystemshowsveryinterestingbehaviorsthatbasicallynoonehasexploredbefore.”AstheworkofYuandothersexpandedthetheoreticalunderstandingofNIMs,potentialapplicationsbegantoemerge.“InthebeginningIdidn’tthinktoomuchaboutwhatkindofapplicationsIcanplaywith,”saysYu.“AsIwentalongwiththewholeproject,Igraduallylearnedthatthereareallsortsofapplicationsthissystemcanhave.”Oneofthoseapplicationsiscapturingcarbondioxide.“Inthesolventlesssystem,thetetheredoligomersorhairswillbeconstrainedtofillthespace.Sotheydon’thavethatmanydegreesoffreedomtobewheretheywanttobe,”saysYu,“butiftheCO2moleculehassomekindofinteractionwiththehairs,it’spossiblethatwhiletheCO2iscapturedintothesystemitcanreleasesomeoftheentropicfrustrationsofthehairs.”ThatmightallowaNIMtosoakupCO2likeasponge,ornot.“WeneedtobecarefulsincethisexpansionmightleadtootherlimitationstocaptureCO2,”explainsYu.“Atthebeginning,wepresumethattheconcentrationofthecoronainafluidstateshouldbeaconstant,butonceyouaddsomethingmoreintothesystem,youcanimaginethatthesystemvolumecouldexpandalittlebitandthatmightaddsomeotherconstraint.”YuworkscloselywithothersatCornellandelsewheretopiecetogetherthispuzzle.“Generally,I’mlookingatthephysicalaspect,andforthechemicalinteraction,Irelyontheexperimentalists,”shesays.“Theytesthowthegasiscapturedintothiskindofmaterials,andIusethedatatheyhavetoextracttheinformationIneedtobuildthecalculation.”Yusolvesherequationsanalyticallyasfarasshecan,usingatheoreticalmodelthatlikenstheforceexertedwithinNIMstoaspring,forexample.“Andintheend,ifthere’ssomethingIcannotsimplifymore,thenIsolveitnumerically,”shesays.“Thebeautyofthisisthatwedon’tthrowalotofinformationintothecomputerandmakeitrun,insteadweanalyzewhichtermwouldbeimportantandwhichcanbeignoredandgetsomeaspectsofthephysics.”Withhercollaborators,Yuhaspublishedonepaperandtheyhaveseveralmoreintheworks.Shehopestofinishherdegreeafternextsummer.“I’mtryingtoseewhatkindofcompaniesIcanworkwith,”shesays.“AlsoI’mtryingtolookatwhatotherscientistsatotherinstitutionsIcanworkwithforoneortwoyearsinapostdoc.”Whileexploringallheroptions,Yusaidshe’sleaningmoretowardacareerinacademia.“Partofthereasonwouldbethatasatheoreticianitwouldbemoreinterestingtoustothinkaboutsomeproblemsthatnoonehasthoughtabout,”Yusays.“Ifwejustworkinindustry,wehavesetsofproblemsthatwehavetodealwithwithinaperiodoftime,buttheoreticiansareveryeasilydistracted,”sheadds,withasmile.Whereversheendsup,YuthinksNIMshaveabrightfuture.“Thissystemwillgoreallyfar.Ithasveryhighpotential,”shesays.“Andinthatsense,forme,Iwouldbeveryinterestedinunderstandingallkindsofnewpropertiesthatthesystemcanhave.”MoreSpotlightsSpotlightEricaD.Pratt,Ph.D.2015EricaPratt'sdoctoralworkinDr.BrianKirby'slabfocusedoninvestigatingcirculatingtumorcells(CTCs)intheperipheralbloodsystemofpatientswithsolidtumorsandhowthesecellscanbeusedasanoninvasivetumorsurrogate,andasprognosticbiomarkersforsurvivalinadvanceddisease. ReadmoreaboutEricaD.Pratt,Ph.D.2015SpotlightElijahCathey-LiM.Eng.2011WhilepursinghisM.Eng.,ElijahMekalinKarrCathey-LiworkedonthedevelopmentofanacousticscannerforcustomultrasounddevicesandtheutilizationofultrasoundtoreduceDVTs. ReadmoreaboutElijahCathey-LiM.Eng.2011SpotlightJoannaDavisB.S.,M.Eng.2019JoannaDavissaystheon-the-spotproblemsolvingshegainedasaCornellBMEundergraduatehasenabledhertobringnuancedsolutionsinarapidly-changingworldtobothclientsandpatientsinhercurrentroleasanAssociateConsultantprovidingdiversesolutionstolifesciencesclients. ReadmoreaboutJoannaDavisB.S.,M.Eng.2019