Dr. Yinbin Miao is a Principal Materials Scientist in the Chemical and Fuel Cycle Technologies division at Argonne National Laboratory. He is part of the Advanced Fuels and Materials group under the Fuel Development and Qualification group at Argonne. In his work, he designs, develops, and qualifies advanced materials for next-generation nuclear reactors using both experimental and computational approaches. He does experimental work for designing/performing ion irradiation tests for accelerated novel nuclear materials qualifications, as well as post-irradiation examinations using advanced characterization techniques such as electron microscopes and synchrotrons. His computational work includes developing, assessing, improving, and utilizing simulation tools to assist materials performance and multi-physics assessment of nuclear systems.

Dr. Miao is a current participant in Argonne’s Launchpad Program, designed to provide motivated early- and mid-career researchers with enhanced training and mentoring for developing multimillion-dollar sponsored research programs. As part of the Launchpad Program, he works with Nicolas Stauff and Sumit Bhattacharya on enabling next-generation nuclear microreactors through material innovations. They have proven capabilities to quickly design and develop new materials technologies including one that can improve the operating lifetime, thermal efficiency, and transportability of a microreactor. They are a group of multidisciplinary scientists and engineers with the goal to efficiently commercialize these solutions while accelerating proof-of-concept of these innovations to attract more industry interests.

Education

• Ph.D. in Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2015
• M.S. in Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2011
• B.Eng. in Engineering Physics — Tsinghua University, 2009

Select Honors

• Argonne National Laboratory Impact Award for establishing analytic scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) characterization capabilities for radioactive materials, which will enable advanced microstructure characterization of nuclear fuels and activated structural materials at Argonne for multiple programs, 2021
• Cohort 6 Selectee of Argonne’s Launchpad Program, 2021
• Mark Mills Award, American Nuclear Society, 2016

Select Publications

• Miao, Y.; Ye, B.; Shi, J.; Mo, K.; Jamison, L.; Bhattacharya, S.; Oaks, A.; Petry, W.; Yacout, A. M. ​“Microstructure Investigations of Temperature Effect on Al-UMo Diffusion Couples Irradiated by Swift Xe Ions.” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2021, 547, 152757.
• Miao, Y.; Mo, K.; Bhattacharya, S.; Jamison, L.; Oaks, A.; Kim, Y.S.; Yacout, A. M. ​“Microstructure Evolution in U-10Zr Alloy Irradiated by Swift Xe Ions at 700°C.” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2021, 543, 152470.
• Miao, Y.; Nimmagadda, L. A.; Rajagopal, M. C.; Mo, K.; Shi, J.; Ye, B.; Jamison, L.; et al. ​“Thermal Conductivity Measurement of the Interaction Layer between UMo and Al Produced by High-energy Heavy Ion Irradiation.” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 539, 152262.
• Miao, Y.; Stauff, N.; Oaks, A.; Yacout, A. M.; Kim. T. K. ​“Fuel Performance Evaluation of Annular Metallic Fuels for an Advanced Fast Reactor Concept.” Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2019, 352, 110157.
• Miao, Y.; Yao, T.; Lian, J.; Zhu, S.; Bhattacharya, S.; Oaks, A.; Yacout, A. M.; Mo, K. ​“Nano-crystallization Induced by High-energy Heavy Ion Irradiation in UO2.” Scripta Materialia, 2018, 155, 169–174.
• Miao, Y.; Yao, T.; Lian, J.; Park, J.-S.; Almer, J.; Bhattacharya, S.; Yacout, A. M.; Mo, K. ​“In Situ Synchrotron Investigation of Grain Growth Behavior of Nano-grained UO2.” Scripta Materialia, 2017, 131, 29–32.
• Miao, Y.; Mo, K.; Ye, B.; Jamison, L.; Mei, Z.-G.; Gan, J.; Miller, B.; et al. ​“High-energy Synchrotron Study of In-pile-irradiated U–Mo Fuels.” Scripta Materialia, 2016, 114, 146–150.
• Miao, Y.; Mo, K.; Zhou, Z.; Liu, X.; Lan, K.; Zhang, G.; Miller, M. K.; et al. ​“On the Microstructure and Strengthening Mechanism in ODS 316 Steel: A Coordinated Electron Microscopy, Atom Probe Tomography and In-situ Synchrotron Tensile Investigation.” Materials Science and Engineering, 2015, A639, 585–596.
• Miao, Y.; Beeler, B.; Deo, C.; Baskes, M. I.; Okuniewski, M. A.; Stubbins, J. F. ​“Defect Structures Induced by High-energy Displacement Cascades in γ Uranium.” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2015, 456, 1–6.
• Miao, Y.; Chen, W.-Y.; Oaks, A.; Mo, K.; Stubbins, J. F. ​“The Incorporation and Migration of a Single Xenon Atom in Ceria.” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2014, 449(1–3), 242–247.