Dr. Xie Zhang, a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Van de Walle group, has been selected to receive the 2019 Early Career Award in High Performance Scientific Computing from the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC). The award recognizes early-career scientists who make high-impact and innovative contributions to science.

Xie Zhang has produced essential insights into recombination mechanisms in halide perovskites – highly efficient materials for photovoltaics – based on cutting-edge first-principles simulations. “Xie has spearheaded an ambitious effort to develop a rigorous understanding of how recombination in halide perovskites operates,” commented Prof. Van de Walle. “These insights are sure to impact the materials and device design of next-generation high-performance devices.”

“I am thrilled to receive the prestigious NERSC Early Career Achievement Award,” said Zhang. “It is not only a distinct honor for myself, but also an affirmation of the fundamental and systematic approach to research in our group. The constant support from my advisor and colleagues has been essential.”

Dr. Richard Gerber, NERSC Senior Science Advisor, commented that “NERSC is pleased to recognize these young researchers’ outstanding scientific accomplishments using High Performance Computing. They nicely represent the next generation of computational scientists who are going to drive scientific discovery over the coming decades.” read more