ICIQ Alumna Yuanyuan Shi selected by FORBES as “30 under 30 Europe” in Science & Health Care

Former ICIQ PhD student, Yuanyuan Shi has been selected by Forbes magazine as one of the 30 under 30 people in Europe to watch in Science & Health Care of the Class of 2020. Forbes 30 under 30 is a set of lists issued annually by Forbes to highlight 30 young visionary leaders (under 30 years old) brashly reinventing business and society in several categories: Art & Culture, Finance, Entertainment, and Science & Health Care.

Shi has been recognised for her research on nanoelectronics, which focuses on novel materials and concepts based electronic devices for beyond CMOS technology. “This is a great recognition, especially for young researchers. Belonging to the 30 under 30 community will help me network and establish new professional connections,” explains Shi, “I truly value this recognition as a great opportunity.”

Shi did her PhD in Antoni Llobet’s group at ICIQ, working on materials and molecules for the development of artificial systems capable of emulating photosynthesis. She constructed photoelectrochemical (PEC) and photovoltaic-electrochemical (PV-EC) devices for the decomposition of water into oxygen and hydrogen, achieving high quantum efficiencies.

During her time at ICIQ, Shi valued working closely with her supervisors: group leader Antoni Llobet and group coordinator Carolina Gimbert. “Their deep understanding of the subject showed in their useful suggestions, which allowed me to progress quickly during my PhD,” Shi thanks. “Doing a PhD is a great opportunity to expand your skill set. From technical to soft skills, ICIQ offered many courses to enhance your skills as a scientist.” Shi has received important awards for the work she carried out during her PhD, such as the IEEE EDS Excellent PhD student award and the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad.

Currently, Shi is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow (Funded by the European Commission) working at IMEC. Her research, part of the Graphene Flagship, focuses on developing wafer-scale 2D materials based transistor technology for scaling high-performance logic devices beyond the 3-nm technology node.