Solving today’s energy challenges requires more than innovation—it takes clarity. At the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, we use powerful magnetic tools to uncover how energy materials really work—from the inside out. With ion cyclotron resonance, we decode the molecular complexity of fuels like crude oil and bio-oils, helping us choose better feedstocks and reduce waste. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) let us watch ions move and structures evolve in real time, revealing why batteries, fuel cells, and hydrogen systems succeed—or fail. By seeing what was once invisible, we’re building a smarter roadmap to cleaner, more efficient energy technologies. It’s science that lights the way forward.

Dr. Yan-Yan Hu earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) in 2006 and her Ph. D. in Analytical Chemistry with a focus on solid-state NMR method development and applications from Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa) in 2011 advised by Prof. Klaus Schmidt-Rohr. She then conducted postdoctoral research in energy materials as a Royal Society Newton Fellow and Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge (2011–2014), hosted by Prof. Clare Grey. In 2014, Dr. Hu joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State University as an Assistant Professor, earning promotion to Associate Professor with tenure in 2019 and Full Professor in 2022. Dr. Hu holds a joint appointment at the National High Field Magnetic Laboratory. Her research is focused on advancing solid-state NMR methods to investigate interface chemistry, ion transport, and microstructure formation in energy- and bio-materials. Her work is currently supported by the NSF, DOE, ONR, NIH, and industry partners such as Samsung and Solid Power. She is a recipient of the Marion Milligan Mason Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016), the Emerging Young Investigator Award from the Florida Section of the ACS (2017), and the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (2019), and the Agnes Fay Morgan Research Award from Iota Sigma Pi (2025). She was a Scialog Fellow for Energy Storage from 2017-2020 sponsored by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and is a Developing Scholar at FSU since 2020. Dr. Hu served as an Associate Editor for Materials Today Chemistry, a Guest Editor for the Journal of Magnetic Resonance, and currently holds the role of Topical Editor for Chemistry of Materials.