Professor Yang Li Included in “National Top-notch Young Professionals” List

Recently, the General Office of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee announced the “National Top-notch Young Professionals” list (National Ten Thousand Talents Program). Professor Yang Li from the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Xiangtan University was selected and received research funding of 1.4 million CNY. She is the second young scholar in XTU to be included in the national program.

Professor Yang Li is vice dean of the School of Materials Science and Engineering and a doctoral supervisor. She has been awarded the Hunan Provincial Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, won the title of Hunan Young Talents, and was supported by the Hunan Youth Science and Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship plan. She once was the winner of the Xuzhilun Excellent Teacher Award of the Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, and has been included in the 2017 Changjiang Scholars Program.

Professor Yang has long been engaged in research on failure detection, performance characterization, and failure mechanism of high performance aero-engine thermal barrier coating materials, and stimulation test device. She has presided over a “two major machines” (aircraft engine and gas turbine) R & D sub-project of the Equipment Development Department of the People‘s Republic of China Central Military Commission program during the “13th Five-Year” Plan period, and five national defense technology basic projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation. She has published more than 40 research papers on high-level thermal barrier coatings study journals, such as Int. J Plasticity, J. Mech. Phys. Solids, and Acta Mater. She has applied for 1 US invention patent and more than 20 national invention patents. She also won the first prize of Hunan Natural Science Award, second prize of National Defense Science and Technology Invention Award, and the first prize of Hunan National Defense Science and Technology Progress Award.

The “Ten-Thousand Talents Program” is a national high-level talent special support plan, and a national-level major talent project in parallel with the “Thousand Talents Plan” that introduces overseas high-level talents. The overall goal is to select and support about 10,000 high-level innovative and entrepreneurial talents in 10 years. The “Ten-Thousand Talents Plan” was initiated and implemented by the Leading Group formed by 11 central governmental departments including the Central Organization Ministry and the Human Resources and Social Security Ministry in 2012. The Plan is divided into three levels: the first level supports 100 outstanding talents who have the potential to be candidate of the Nobel Prize and grow into a world-class scientist; the second level plans to support 8,000 national science and technology and industry development leaders in need; and, the third level program supports 2,000 young talents with great development potential in scientific research.