Time:13:00-14:30, Wed., May 20, 2025

Venue:E10-304, Yungu Campus

Host:Yao Yang, Assistant Professor, Westlake University

Language:Chinese

Speake：

Qi Zhu

Hundred Talents Program Researcher; Doctoral Supervisor

Zhejiang University

Biography:

Dr. Qi Zhu is a Hundred Talents Program Researcher and doctoral supervisor in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Zhejiang University. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from Zhejiang University in 2021, and then worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and the University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on nanomechanical characterization using in situ electron microscopy, interface kinetics in metals, and microstructure design for advanced alloys. He has published over 40 papers in leading journals, includingPNAS,Nat. Commun.,Sci. Adv.,J. Mech. Phys. Solids,Acta Mater., with a total citation over 2100 and an h-index of 25 (Google Scholar). He was also the recipient of MRS Graduate Student Silver Award (2020), Excellent Doctoral Thesis Award of Zhejiang Province (2021), and ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (2025).

Abstract:

Grain boundaries (GBs) are key microstructures that govern the deformation and damage of metallic materials, making them central to the design of strengthening and toughening strategies. However, direct investigation of microscopic deformation mechanisms of GBs remains challenging, due to their intrinsic high degrees of freedom and complex atomic structures. Using in situ nanomechanical characterization, we reveal the atomistic kinetics underlying GB-dominated deformation and establish a deformation map spanning from low-angle to high-angle regime. Furthermore, we develop a unified framework based on GB excess volume, which dictates the initiation mechanism of GB plasticity. Our findings underpin GBs as functional elements that actively modulate the mechanical behaviors, highlighting an interface-driven, kinetics-programmable approach for future materials engineering.

Contact:

郭盈沂

guoyingyi@westlake.edu.cn