With the fast advance of computational capability, the first-principles method without adjustable parameter has been widely used to study various materials and obtained satisfying results. Dr. Yang is interested in applying this powerful tool to study the electronic structure and optical response of solids and design novel functional materials. Moreover, he is developing new methods to study correlated systems which have not been understood well yet. Here are three specific directions Dr. Yang's group is interested in.

1. Photovoltaic materials. Dr. Yang applies first-principles method to studying excitonic effects on their optical properties, which is not only helpful to predict optimized structures for high-efficient solar cells but also important to understand fundamental physics in these useful materials.
2. Silicon and carbon based nanostructures. Dr. Yang is interested in quantum confinement effect on the electronic structure and optical properties of these small-sized materials. In particular, how the optical response of these nanostructures is modified by their size, defect and chemical environment is his current researching interest.
3. The electronic structure and optical properties of transition metal oxides (TMOs). TMOs are compounds with a uniquely wide range of electronic properties. Dr. Yang is interested to find a general method with many-body effects accurately included, which gives precise and consistent results of these correlated systems.

Dr. Yang is seeking motivated graduate students and postdocs to join his group. Interested undergraduate students are encouraged to take part in relevant researches.

2006	Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Physics
1997	B.A., Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China,, Physics

2009-present	Assistant Professor, Washington University
2006-2009	Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory