Yongjie Hu, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has received a Young Investigator Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The three-year, $360,000-grant will support his research on nanoscale architectures and ultrafast energy diagnostics.

Hu was one of 58 researchers across the country who received the award, which is given to foster creative basic research in science and engineering, enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the Air Force mission and the related challenges in science and engineering.

The H-Lab, Hu's research group, focuses on understanding and engineering nanoscale transport phenomena and nanomaterials for a wide range of applications including energy conversion, storage and thermal management. The research team is also working on developing sensors and metamaterials based on novel 2-D nanostructures.

Hu joined the faculty at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2014. Previously, he was a Battelle-MIT postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University.