Kevin Yager
Group Leader, Electronic Nanomaterials, Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Bldg. 735, Room 2018
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
(631) 344-7608
kyager@bnl.gov
I am the group leader for the Electronic Nanomaterials group in the Center for Functional Nanomaterials. My research focuses on self-assembled nanostructures, structural characterization using x-ray and neutron techniques (small-angle scattering, reflectivity, GISAXS, etc.), and leveraging machine-learning methods to solve scientific challenges. I manage the CFN x-ray scattering user program, including our partner program on two synchrotron x-ray scattering beamlines at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II).
Research | Education | Publications | Highlights
Research Activities
My research focuses on materials science and nanotechnology. Currently I’m most interested in non-equilibrium self-assembly. In particular, I study how non-equilibrium processing can be used to control the ordering of block-copolymer materials. I have recently demonstrated a suite of techniques that can be used to induce these self-assembling materials to form nanostructures beyond those known at equilibrium. I am also actively developing improved x-ray scattering techniques; especially with regard to exploiting machine-learning to enable autonomous scientific experiments.
Education
- B.Sc. (2001): McGill University (Montreal)
- Major: Chemistry; Minor: Computer Science
- PhD (2006): McGill University (Montreal)
- Physical Chemistry
- Dissertation Title: Investigation of Photomechanical Surface Patterning in Azobenzene Materials
Selected Publications
- Yager KG (2023) Domain-specific chatbots for science using embeddings. Digital Discovery 2:1850–1861. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3dd00112a
- Yager KG, Majewski PW, Noack MM, Fukuto M (2023) Autonomous x-ray scattering. Nanotechnology 34:322001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/acd25a
- Doerk GS, Stein A, Bae S, et al (2023) Autonomous discovery of emergent morphologies in directed self-assembly of block copolymer blends. Science Advances 9:. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add3687
- Russell ST, Bae S, Subramanian A, et al (2022) Priming self-assembly pathways by stacking block copolymers. Nature Communications 13:. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34729-0
- Noack MM, Yager KG, Fukuto M, Doerk GS, Li R, Sethian JA (2019) A Kriging-Based Approach to Autonomous Experimentation with Applications to X-Ray Scattering. Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48114-3
- Liu J, Yager KG (2018) Unwarping GISAXS data. IUCrJ 5:737–752. doi: 10.1107/s2052252518012058
- Wang B, Yager K, Yu D, Hoai M (2017) X-Ray Scattering Image Classification Using Deep Learning. 2017 IEEE Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV). doi: 10.1109/wacv.2017.83
- Rahman A, Majewski PW, Doerk G, Black CT, Yager KG (2016) Non-native three-dimensional block copolymer morphologies. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13988
- Majewski PW, Rahman A, Black CT, Yager KG (2015) Arbitrary lattice symmetries via block copolymer nanomeshes. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms8448
Research Highlights
- Pushing X-rays to the Edge to Draw the Nanoworld into Focus
- Intense Lasers Cook Up Complex, Self-Assembled Nanomaterials
- Sweeping Lasers Snap Together Nanoscale Geometric Grids
- Pathway-Dependent Ordering of Block Copolymers
- Easy Alignment of Elongated Renewable Nanomaterials
- Smarter Self-assembly Opens New Pathways for Nanotechnology
- Data Science Heals Imperfect X-ray Scattering Datasets
- Growing Muscles on Tunable Nanocomposite Scaffolds
- Researchers Engineer New Pathways for Self-Assembled Nanostructures
- Transforming Advanced Nanoscience Data into Interactive Art
- PubSci at the Parrish Merges Science, Art, and Music
- Building a Printing Press for New Quantum Materials
- Physics on Autopilot
- Scientists Build Nanoscale Parapets, Aqueducts, and Other Shapes
- AI Discovers New Nanostructures
- Brainstorming with a Bot
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Bldg. 735, Room 2018
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
(631) 344-7608
kyager@bnl.gov
