Principal Investigator | Ph.D. Students | Undergraduate Students
We are committed to fostering environments that are professionally and personally inclusive, equitable, psychologically safe, and welcoming to all teammates. We do this by leading with kindness, open-mindedness, and empathy.
- Kindness: We communicate openly and respectfully, remembering that it is okay for others to have different opinions from us. We treat others with the kindness we want others to treat us.
- Open-mindedness: We leave assumptions behind, and seek first to understand. We are aware of community biases and are persistent in finding new ways to reduce them. Lastly we actively encourage our peers to hold themselves to these same standards.
- Empathy: We always remember that we are on the same team, working together on science and engineering challenges that need our solutions. We give ourselves and others the time, space, and patience to grow and learn.
These are our guiding principles as ethical scientists and engineers.
Principal Investigator
Julia H. Yang (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Machine Learning Ph.D. Program Faculty, Georgia Tech
Affiliate Faculty, Georgia Tech Advanced Battery Center
jhyang [at] gatech.edu
Julia is an Assistant Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She earned a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016 and a Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 2022 as an NDSEG Fellow. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, she was an Environmental Fellow at Harvard University (2022-2024). She likes to run, play volleyball, and find new ways to lower her carbon footprint.
Ph.D. Students
Nicholas Wong (he/him/his)
B.S. in Chemical Engineering, B.S. in Computer Science, Miami University, 2024
Nick is a Ph.D. student in Machine Learning (ML) at Georgia Tech. He earned B.S. in Chemical Engineering, with a second degree in Computer Science from Miami University in 2024. His research interests lie in leveraging ML methods in cheminformatics. He is looking to utilize models trained on first principles calculations to guide solvent design in the realm of lithium-ion battery recycling. During his free time, he enjoys baking, finding and petting cats, polaroid cameras, and enology.
Xinqiang Rao (he/him/his)
B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, 2023
Xinqiang, born and raised in southern China, earned his Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. During his undergraduate studies, he conducted research on organic electrochemical supercapacitors and lithium metal anodes under the guidance of Prof. Daniel Qi Tan. Outside of academia, he enjoys cooking, playing guitar, and singing.
Undergraduate Students
Stella McWhorter (she/her/hers)
B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Tech, 2026
Stella is an undergraduate student at Georgia Tech majoring in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and minoring in Aerospace Engineering, graduating in Spring 2026. She is looking to pursue a career in energy and defense. During her free time, she enjoys reading, exploring new coffee shops, and building Lego flowers.