News from the Helmholtz Young Investigator Group
June 09, 2026
The YIG group at the Institute of Energy Technologies (IET-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, is pleased to share several recent highlights that reflect the group’s growing international visibility, scientific impact, and continued success in attracting outstanding talent.
Chenkun Li represented IET-3 at the 23rd Chinese Electrochemistry Conference, held in Wuhan, China, from November 7 to 11, 2025. During the conference, he delivered a contribution on the influence of electrical double layers and nanopores on solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) impedance in electrochemical systems. He was recognized with an Outstanding Poster Award, highlighting both the quality of his work and the relevance of IET-3 research on electrochemical interfaces.
We also celebrate the achievements of Dr. Weiqiang Tang, who conducted his postdoctoral research at IET-3 from July 2023 to June 2025 in collaboration with Prof. Jun Huang. His work focused on understanding how realistic electrode structures and electrolyte environments shape electrical double layer properties. This included fundamental insights into solvent effects on the potential of zero charge, the role of mesoscale surface roughness in determining work function and interfacial properties, and the impact of ion chemisorption on double layer capacitance. His research has been published in leading journals such as JACS Au, AIChE Journal, and Physical Review Letters. Following his successful time at IET-3, Dr. Tang joined Zhengzhou University, China, in August 2025 as a full professor.
At the same time, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Jia-Xin Zhu to the YIG group. Since joining IET-3 in February 2026, she has already secured two highly competitive fellowships: a Humboldt Research Fellowship (2026–2027) and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (starting in September 2027). These prestigious awards will support her research at IET-3 for the next three and a half years. Dr. Zhu aims to develop a machine-learning-enhanced ab initio mesoscale electrochemical simulator (AIMS), combining her expertise in data-driven computational electrochemistry with IET-3’s strengths in physics-based modeling. Her work is expected to open new pathways for understanding and designing electrochemical interfaces, particularly at the mesoscale.
Together, these achievements underscore IET-3’s strong position at the forefront of electrochemical interface research and its role as an attractive environment for excellent scientists from around the world.
Contacts
- Institute of Energy Technologies (IET)
- Theory and Computation of Energy Materials (IET-3)
Room 5047
- Institute of Energy Technologies (IET)
- Theory and Computation of Energy Materials (IET-3)
Room 4047