Meet the ESRs – Part 12

Tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Chengjun Yu, born in China. I received my bachelor degree in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), where I met my bachelor thesis supervisor, Prof. Shuqiang Jiao, who is a former researcher in Prof. D. J. Fray's group, and he led me to the research field of electrochemistry. Then I joined Master of Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion (MESC), a two-year EU Erasmus Mundus program in Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, there I learned a lot on electrochemistry. I work on my PhD project in KU Leuven.

How is your PhD going? What is your upcoming research about?

My PhD project topic is direct electroreduction of iron oxides from bauxite residue, which combines metallurgy and electrochemistry, so it matches my educational background well. I’m really interested in this topic, on the one hand, iron oxide is typically the major constituent of bauxite residue, by extracting iron, the volume of bauxite residue will be decreased a lot, on the other hand, compared with traditional carbothermic reduction, direct electroreduction will consume less energy and produce less CO₂. Since I will get my master degree in September 2015, I will start my project a little later than others, but I will try my best to catch up with my colleagues and work together to make REDMUD project successful.

What or who motivates and inspires you? Any thoughts and life musings you’d like to share with us?

During my higher education, I have met several famous professors in the field of metallurgy or electrochemistry, such as, Prof. D. J. Fray, Prof. J. M. Tarascon, they really focus on cutting-edge technology, and the same time, they devote their discoveries to industrial application for better life. As the saying goes, "Since I've decided to go to a distant place, I'll try my best to make the trip.", as a member of REDMUD project, I will try my best to achieve my tasks and complete my PhD successfully, at the same time, enjoy the fun of science and technology with REDMUD team.

If a chicken had lips, could it whistle?

Why not? Maybe she can even sing a song 🙂