Welcome to Dr. Hsiao-Ching Yang’s Laboratory: Where Complex Materials Learn, Adapt, and Inspire

Ready to venture into a world beyond what the eye can't see?

At Dr. Yang’s lab, we don’t just study materials — we unlock their genetic code for the future. Just as a fearless princess leads her team with a lightsaber of discovery, our mission is to push beyond thorns of scientific unknowns and blossom breakthroughs that redefine the limits of energy, information, and the complex systems shaping our world.

Materials are not static; they are dynamic, adaptive systems with homeostatic abilities, capable of precisely controlling their local environments through the interplay of chemical and mechanical energy, guided by self-regulating feedback loops woven across multiple scales. Yet, a fundamental frontier remains unexplored: How do complex molecular systems sense, respond to, and transduce mechanical forces into chemical and functional signals?

Dr. Yang’s research tackles this grand challenge by forging cutting-edge computational and experimental tools to illuminate the molecular choreography behind these processes — from atomic interactions to complex nanoscale assemblies. Our work seeks to predict and unravel the mechanistic and stereochemical pathways of organic electrocyclic reactions, decode the inter- and intramolecular forces shaping complex recognition processes, and map the structural transitions that drive dynamic functions in physical chemistry and materials science.
Where X-rays once offered a window into the static crystallographic world, Dr. Yang’s lab advances the frontier by wielding synchrotron and neutron scattering like precision lightsabers, resolving the intricate architectures and flexible motions of complex molecular assemblies in real, often extreme, environments. Through innovative SAXS/WAXS analysis combined with high-resolution molecular dynamics simulations, we transform scattering patterns from monodisperse systems, transient complexes, and heterogeneous ensembles into detailed, predictive structural models.

Our hybrid approach bridges experimental breakthroughs on world-class beamlines (TLS 23A, TOS13A at NSRRC, QUOKKA at ANSTO) with the power of advanced computational algorithms, solving inverse mapping problems once deemed intractable. These efforts open new avenues to harness materials capable of sensing, adapting, and learning — laying the foundation for smarter energy storage, faster semiconductors, and responsive complex materials.

Dr. Yang’s group isn’t just observing the dynamics of matter; we are redefining them, pioneering a transformative era where the mastery of molecular forces unleashes revolutionary advances for both pure science and impactful technologies.
If you dream of a career journey that soars beyond convention, where your research writes the blueprint of tomorrow ~Now is the moment to take flight.

Join our mission at yang-hc@mx.nthu.edu.tw.