Hanbo Yang
Role: PhD student, Department of Physics, Imperial College London
Subject area: Materials that can manipulate and harvest light for a more sustainable future.
Nationality: Australian
I’m an Australian currently undertaking a PhD degree in Physics at Imperial. I work with materials that can manipulate and harvest light for a more sustainable future.
Education
GCSE/A-levels (or equivalent): During my final years in High school, I studied Physics, Advanced Mathematics, Mathematics, English, Indonesian and a research project in Robotics (South Australian education system)
Degrees
• BSc in Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Australia
• MSc in Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Australia
• PhD in Physics (ongoing), Imperial College London
Detail about Hanbo
My research
Our current silicon solar cells can only harvest the bluer (higher energy) region of our solar spectrum. The redder (lower energy) region gets transmitted through and is wasted as heat. My research looks at how to make better use of the lower energy region to improve the efficacy of solar cells.
My inspiration
A string of reasons but most notably my parents who are also in the field and my high school physics teacher.
Who is your STEM hero?
Professor Jenny Nelson – a pioneer in the field of organic solar cells here at Imperial. Her enthusiasm and perseverance in a male-dominated field is very inspiring to me.
Most significant discovery/invention?
Calculus – without this mathematical tool that looks at the rates of change no physics would be possible!
Career options after study
Chemistry is extremely versatile!
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing
- Materials engineering consulting
- Water and soil analyst
- Food developement e.g. Cadbury (chocolate!)
My hobbies
I do Taekwondo and enjoy scouting for good pastries.