Curriculum vitae
University education
1984 – 87 PhD, University of Cambridge, UK, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, under supervision of Professor H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia, on a PhD scholarship award sponsored by Taiwan (ROC) Ministry of Education. Title of thesis: “Development of Microstructure in High-Strength Weld Deposits”, submitted in November 1987.
1978 – 80 MSc, National Tsing-Hua University (Taiwan), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, graduated with top 1 out of 25. Title of thesis: “Dual Ferrite-Martensite Treatments of High-Strength Low-Alloy Corten Steels”, submitted in May 1980.
1974 –78 BEng, National Cheng-Kung University (Taiwan), Department of Metallurgy and MaterialsEngineering, graduated with top 2 out of 60.
Present appointments
· 1993–Now Professor, National Taiwan University (Taiwan), Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.
· 2011–Now Director, Advanced Steel Microstructure Control – Engineering Research Center, found by CBMM, China Steel Corporation and National Taiwan University.
· 2013–Now President, Microscopy Society of Taiwan.
· 2008–Now Adjunct professor, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology, Korea.
Previous appointments
·2007–2010 Head of Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University.
·1988–1993 Associate Professor, National Taiwan University, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.
·1992–1993 Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge, UK, Dept. of Materials Science and Metallurgy.
·1982–1984 Lecturer, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan), Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Major Awards and Honors
· PhD scholarship award, Ministry of Education (Taiwan, ROC) for 3 years at the University of Cambridge, UK (1984 – 87).
· Medal for the excellent teaching award, Ministry of Education, Taiwan, ROC (1990).
· Distinguished Teacher Award, College of Engineering, National Taiwan University (1990, 1991 and 1992).
· Medal for the outstanding research in the nuclear materials from Taiwan Atomic Energy Council, ROC (2002 and 2003).
· Consultant for Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan, ROC (2002 – 2004).
· Consultant for Gloria Material Technology Corp., Taiwan, ROC (1992 – now).
· Medal for Excellent Research Education Award, National Science Council, Taiwan, ROC (2005, 2010).
· Medal for the outstanding research scholar award, Chinese Engineer Society, Taiwan, ROC (2010).
· Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), UK (2014 – now).
· Medal for the distinguished engineering professor award, Chinese Engineer Society, Taiwan, ROC (2015).
Short Biography:
Professor Jer-Ren Yang’s scientific research started in 1978 for MSc study at Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing-Hua University (Taiwan). At the period of MSc study (1978-1980), he was much interested in metallography, heat treatments and transmission electron microscopy for the research investigation of dual-phase steels. In 1980-1982 he served at a military school as a second lieutenant teaching officer, and in 1982-1984 he served as a lecturer at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan) for giving the undergraduate lecture courses of Physical Metallurgy, Introduction to Materials Science & Engineering, and Heat Treatments of Metals. In 1984, through a whole-Taiwan competitive examination organized by Ministry of Education (Taiwan, ROC), he obtained a scholarship award for the pursuit of PhD. Thereby he was extremely fortune to enter Phase Transformation Group, led by Professor H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia, at Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Cambridge. He devoted himself to the research work on steel phase transformation, thermodynamic calculation and transmission electron microscopy with Professor Bhadeshia in Cambridge. He was so excited to have his first result in Cambridge in 1984, which provided clear evidence to suggest that acicular ferrite in alloy-steel weld metals simply corresponds to intragranularly-nucleated bainite. He always got pleasure from acquiring plenty of clear-cut knowledge in Professor Bhadeshia’s lectures or regular seminars. Professor Bhadeshia’s rigorous scientific approach and serious attitude have deeply influenced Professor Yang for his later scientific career. The theories of phase transformation he learned and the experiments he did in Cambridge had laid a solid foundation for his later research in Taiwan. In December 1987 he finished his PhD study in Cambridge. In February 1988 he joined the academic staff of Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, where he has been a full Professor since August 1993. National Taiwan University is the first integrated and the most prestigious institution of highest education in Taiwan. The academic staff bear the responsibility of promoting the level of academic research and teaching. In 2015 QS World University Rankings by the subject of metallurgy and materials, the ranking of department is at the place of the world’s top 44. In the period from August 2007 to July 2010, he served as the Head of Department. Professor Yang has been appointed as Director of Advanced Steel Microstructure Control – Engineering Research Centre (ASMC-ERC) in National Taiwan University, since this centre was established by CBMM (Brazil) and China Steel Corporation (Taiwan) in 2011. He has been appointed as President of Microscopy Society of Taiwan since 2013. He has become a fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM) since 2014. In his 27 year career in National Taiwan University, He has finished the supervision for 25 PhD and 56 MSc research works and has published some 160 SCI journal papers with about 240 conference papers.
Important Contributions
During his 27 years in academia at National Taiwan University, Professor Jer-Ren Yang has established and has been in charge of experimental facilities of transmission electron microscopes (TEMs): JEM 2000 EXII (200 kV TEM) for 27 years, Fei Tecnai F30 (300 kV FEG-STEM) for 15 years and Fei Tecnai G2 F20 (200 kV FEG-STEM) for 6 years; Dilatronic III RDP dilatometer (a deformation dilatometer of theta Industries, Inc.) for 27 years. He has led the most important and active group studying Physical Metallurgy of Steels at National Taiwan University, which is the prestigious university in Taiwan. Through understanding of phase transformations and utilizing the advanced techniques of transmission electron microscopy, he has conducted a considerable number of critical and well-designed research projects. The achievements have made structure-property control with structural characterisation become possible, visible, reliable and applicable. The most significant contributions of his research works are listed as follows.
I. Development of thermo-mechanical control processed (TMCP) steels
Fundamental research project on the development of TMCP steels carried out over a decade (1991-2000) under the financial support of China Steel Corporation (CSC, Taiwan). The purpose of this technique was to develop the finest austenite grain size before the controlled cooling. By appropriate choice of deformation temperature and strain rate, the strength of a steel was increased. The strength of the developed TMCP steel was higher than for normalised steel of the same composition. Thus TMCP steel could have a leaner composition (lower alloy content) than a conventional normalised steel of the same strength. The lean composition of TMCP steels was beneficial with respect to weldability. In the same period of TMCP steel research, CSC was responsible for providing the high-performance steels with both strength and flexibility for the construction of Taipei 101 Tower from 2000 to 2003. His research work was exactly relevant to the practical applications for this skyscraper, the building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.
II. Development of ultra-low-carbon bainitic (ULCB) steels
In order to improve the transportation efficiency, large diameter pipelines are increasingly required to transport oil and gas through severe environments. The specification for pipeline steels therefore becomes more and more meticulous. In 1993 – 1998 his second portfolio of research was involved with the development of ULCB steels for the application of oil pipelines along the west coast of Taiwan. Since at a very low carbon concentration, the design of ULCB steels required under suitable microalloying, controlled-rolling and accelerated-cooling. His research team developed the technique to obtain the final austenite grains in unrecrystallized, pancake shape before accelerated cooling. This ensured a further degree of refinement of the ULCB microstructure. This work has been connected with the production of ULCB steels in CSC. The developed steels have been successfully proved long-enduring in the construction of transmission pipelines in Taiwan. The outcomes of this research work have been also published in the important SCI journal papers.
III. Microstructural stability with related property in 2205 duplex stainless steels
Duplex stainless steels have been increasingly used for a variety of applications due to their excellent combination of mechanical property and corrosion resistance. However, the deterioration in toughness and in corrosion resistance as a result of exposure to high temperature, which is the case during fabrication, is a typical problem to the users of duplex stainless steels. In 2000, a Taiwan local company, Gloria Material Technology Corporation, started to produce 2205 duplex stainless steels, noticed the above issue and initiated his research team into a six-year (2000 - 2005) collaborative research project on “Microstructural stability with related property in 2205 duplex stainless steels”. The undesirable phases such as intermetallic phases, carbides and nitrides may exist in the steels and profoundly affect their properties if the manufacturing processes are not properly controlled. This research work was highly relevant to the practical applications. The results of the project were published in the important SCI journal papers; those papers have been popularly cited and one of them has been acquired 148 times of citation. The important findings were also provided for the related firms to facilitate the fabrications.
IV. Investigation of severely deformed austenitic stainless steel wires
A Royal Society (UK) – National Science Council (Taiwan) joint project was performed in the period of 2003 – 2005. The purpose of this collaborative project was to combine the characterization expertise in Taiwan group (my research group) with the theory being developed in Cambridge group (Professor Bhadeshia research group) to gain a better understanding of the strengthening mechanisms and microstructural evolution in austenitic stainless steel wires. The microstructure of ultrafine wires (with 8 mm) produced by the severe cold-deformation of 316L was examined using transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The deformation imparted amounts to a true strain of 6.3. Data from previous studies on strain-induced martensitic transformation of this steel have been combined with the results in this project to show that true strains greater than 2 are required in order to observe mechanical stabilization of austenite, i.e., the cessation of martensitic transformation when the martensite/austenite interfaces are unable to propagate through the dislocation debris created in the austenite. The significant achievement in this work is that in contradiction to previous work which indicated a monotonic increase in the amount of strain-induced martensite with plastic strain (e £1), the clear evidence has proved for first time that the austenite does become mechanically stabilized to transformation as the true strain reaches 2. The outcomes of this work have been published in the important SCI journal papers.
V. Investigation of interphase-precipitated nanocarbide strengthening in advanced high-strength low-alloy steels for automobile application
The nanotechnology has been exploited into the steel metallurgy in order to develop newly advanced high-strength low-alloy steels for automobile application. In Taiwan, advanced ferritic steel strips have been developed in his research group and produced by China Steel Corporation (CSC). Tensile strength of over 980 MPa with total elongation of over 20% has been achieved in Ti and Mo bearing hot-rolled low-carbon steel strips by producing microstructures that consist of a fully ferritic matrix with nanometer sized carbides. Because the nanometer-sized carbides is highly densely-distributed in the ferritic matrix, the steel strips can possess such an ultrahigh strength with an excellent ductility. The breakthrough in alloy design and the advanced technique of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have made the nanostructure-control and nanostructure-characterisation possible, visible and reliable. The contribution of the dispersion of interphase-precipitated carbides to the yield strength of the steels studied can be higher than 400 MPa – the result is compatible to that of JFE Company (Japan) – so that an excellent combination of strength and elongation can be achieved. Due to the stable quality and excellent mechanical properties of the nano-sized precipitates strengthened hot-rolled steel strips, their applications can be extremely versatile. CSC has provided about 100,000 tons of these grade products per year for downstream firms and industries. The results of the research work have been also published in the important SCI journal papers.
VI. Establishment of state-of-art field-emission gun scanning transmission electron microscopy Lab
Professor Jer-Ren Yang has been successful, as principal investigator, in obtaining research grants from the Taiwan government, National Taiwan University, industry. In August 2001, he responsibly completed installing a 300 kV field-emission-gun transmission electron microscope (FEG-TEM), FEI Tecnai F30, at National Taiwan University, which was the first 300 kV FEG-TEM employed in Taiwan. This instrument has been equipped with STEM, EDX, Energy Filter (Gantan Image Filter, GIF), and high angle annular dark field detector. His research group has conducted considerable research projects for development of the advanced steels dealing with nanostructural characterization and evolution via this state-of-art transmission microscope. In 2010, He also finished installing a 200 kV field-emission-gun transmission electron microscope (FEG-TEM), FEI Tecnai G2 F20, at National Taiwan University to explore the complexity of nano/micro/macrostructure in advanced steels. This instrument has also been equipped with STEM, EDX, high angle annular dark field detector and tomography stage for 3 dimensional investigation of nanomaterials. In the last decade, his research group made remarkable achievements on transmission electron microscopy for physical metallurgy of steels, and he has earned a reputation as the President of Microscopy Society of Taiwan since 2013.
VII. Establishment of Advanced Steel Microstructure Control Engineering Research Center
Department of Materials Science and Engineering at National Taiwan University (NTU) has had a long tradition of strongly supporting steel research. The aim of the steel research always emphasizes to create novel solutions for the application in steel engineering systems. Building on this early recognition, the Department has continued to grow and has taken a leadership role in this field in Taiwan. In the early 2011 Professor Yang initiated NTU, CBMM (Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracão, Brazil) and CSC (China Steel Corporation, Taiwan) into the foundation for Advanced Steel Microstructure Control - Engineering Research Center (ASMC-ERC). CBMM is the world-famous Brazilian niobium miner company that is involved in the extraction, processing, manufacturing and marketing of Niobium-based products. CBMM supplies 82% of the world demand for niobium products and dedicates special attention to its customers, wherever they may be around the globe. CSC is the 25th largest steel producer in the world in 2013 according to Word Steel Association, and world-famous for the quality of its products. In November 2011 ASMC-ERC was launched. The vision of ASMC-ERC is to be a vibrant, supportive community of steel scientists and engineers developing fundamental understanding, enabling advanced technologies, and providing world leadership through education and innovative research. The main mission is to improve the collaboration with CBMM and CSC on the development of advanced high-strength hot-rolled steel plates and strips, and on their future versatile applications for energy saving.