Ying Diao is a professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering, the co-chair of Molecular Science and Engineering at the Beckman Institute, and the recipients of numerous awards and honors, including Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers in 2025.
Diao now studies how chirality - asymmetry in molecules and physical structures - might be able to make electronics more energy-efficient.
The inspiration comes from the natural world, where chirality allows plants to perform photosynthesis with near-perfect energy efficiency and might help our brains to operate at supercomputer levels without anywhere near as much energy wasted as heat.
Diao shared how she ended up researching this topic, what chiral electronics are, and what impact they could have in the future.