Brown University’s Joan Wernig Sorensen Professor of Engineering Yue Qi has been elected to the class of 2026 Fellows by the Materials Research Society (MRS). Qi was cited “for developing predictive multiscale multiphysics simulation methods to uncover the electro-chemical-mechanical coupled mechanisms at interfaces/interphases in critical energy storage and sustainability technologies and for dedication to multidisciplinary education and services.”
The title of MRS Fellow honors those MRS members for their distinguished research accomplishments and their outstanding contributions to the advancement of materials research, world-wide. The maximum number of new Fellow appointments each year is limited to 0.2% of the current MRS regular membership and to those with continuous engagement with MRS. By representing excellence in science and engineering and dedication to the advancement of materials research, the MRS Fellows exemplify the highest ideals of accomplishment and service embodied in the MRS mission.
Qi is a computational material scientist working at the boundary of engineering, materials, mechanics, physics, chemistry, and electrochemistry. Her research interests include developing multi-scale simulation methods to design materials and their interfaces from atoms, and all of the materials she and her group study are critically important for an energy-efficient and sustainable future. She received her B.S. degree in materials science and computer science from Tsinghua University and her Ph.D. degree in materials science from Caltech. She spent the next 12 years working at the General Motors R&D Center. Qi transitioned from industry to academia in 2013 and served on the faculty in the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Department at Michigan State University until 2020.
She is passionate about increasing diversity in engineering and was the inaugural winner of the Brown Engineering Dean’s Award for Impact in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Teaching and Advising. She served as MSU’s first Associate Dean for Inclusion and Diversity in the College of Engineering between 2018-2020. In 2017, she was named a Brimacombe Medalist (mid-career award) from the Minerals, Metals & Materials (TMS) Society. Qi also serves as the deputy director of the Initiative for Sustainable Energy (ISE), a signature initiative for Brown University under the Operational Plan for Growing the Research Enterprise.
She joins Nitin Padture (2023) and Subra Suresh (2008) as Brown faculty members who are Fellows of the MRS.
The 2026 MRS Fellow honorees will be celebrated in Honolulu, Hawai’i at the 2026 MRS Spring Meeting held April 26-May 1. Qi will then serve as one of five chairs for the Fall 2026 meeting in Boston.