Dr Yuefeng Yin
AEA Ignite Project Lead / Research Fellow · Theoretical Condensed Matter & Quantum Materials Physics — Research, Teaching & Translation
Department of Materials Science and Engineering & School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University
43Original Research Articles
1,211Citations
19h-index
9PhDs Mentored
A$3.4MFunding Led, Co-led and Participated
Theoretical condensed matter physicist (PhD, Monash; nine years postdoctoral, seven in the physics-led ARC CoE FLEET) studying how topology, Berry curvature and quantum geometry shape the electronic, magnetic, optical and transport responses of quantum materials, and engineering them into low-energy quantum devices. First-principles, tight-binding and transport theory in a close predict-and-test loop with experimental physicists, paired with a sustained record of teaching, HDR supervision and industry translation.
Education
2012 – 2016
PhD, Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University. Thesis: Tailoring the electronic structure of graphene via molecular adsorption.
2007 – 2011
B.Eng., Materials Science and Engineering (2+2 program), Monash University / Central South University.
Appointments
2024 – now
Research Fellow (Level B) / Lead Entrepreneur, AEA Ignite Project, Department of Materials Science and Engineering / School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University. Quantum-materials theory; prototyping a new low-energy transistor technology.
2017 – 2024
Research Fellow, Monash University , ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronic Technologies (FLEET) — a physics-led national Centre headquartered at Monash. Theory of topological materials, Berry-curvature transport, magneto-optics and spintronic systems for low-energy electronics.
Teaching, Supervision & Outreach
- Lecturer, Computational Materials Science (2017–2019, 2023–2024), Central South University — delivered on behalf of Monash under the Monash–CSU "2+2" program.
- Designed its intensive 3-week curriculum from first principles — foundations through DFT, HPC and AI, finishing in a group mini-assignment — expandable to a full 12-week program; materials open on GitHub.
- Training HDR students in research skills — DFT training workshops and tutorials for Master's and PhD students, Monash University.
- Examiner for 2 PhD candidates, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University.
- 9 PhD candidates mentored/co-supervised (4 current, 5 graduated): Hanqi Wang, Minh Tien Le, Rahul Awale, Tung Huynh, Ziyuan Zhao, Enamul Haque, Bernard Field, Abin Varghese, Chutian Wang.
- 3 Bachelor's/Master's students supervised, including Qile Li.
- Mentees first-authored papers in Advanced Science, ACS Nano and Nano Letters; one graduate now holds a joint postdoctoral position at the University of Cambridge and King's College London.
- Public engagement: Melbourne Knowledge Week (FLEET quantum-science outreach), annual Gordon Godfrey Workshop (UNSW), and ongoing science communication via X, GitHub and Wikipedia.
Grants (Funding & Computational Resources)
2026 – Current
A$650K: Lead CI, Australia's Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite, Round 2, "From Lab to Fab: Advancing a New Low-Energy Transistor Towards Large-scale Manufacturing." Other CIs: Prof. Michael S. Fuhrer & Prof. Nikhil V. Medhekar, with industry partner TQ Transistors.
2026 – Current
A$1.7M: Key Participant, ARC Linkage Project, 2025R2, "Prototyping a Breakthrough Low-Energy Topological Transistor for Future Electronics.", Led by Prof. Michael S. Fuhrer. Other CI: Prof. Nikhil V. Medhekar, with industry partner TQ Transistors.
2024 – Current
A$1.04M: Co-CI, Industrial funding (TQ Transistors Pty Ltd), "Materials Design for Novel Negative Capacitance Field Effect Transistors", Led by Prof. Nikhil V. Medhekar. Other CI: Prof. Michael S. Fuhrer.
2024 – Current
2M SU: Lead CI, NCI Adapter Scheme / NCI-Monash Computational Scheme, "Exploring new approaches of modeling defects in Materials."
2025 – 2026
1.5M CPU hours: Lead CI, Pawsey Fast Track Scheme, "Understanding the interfacial interactions for semiconductor-metal/semiconductor contact."
Selected Publications since 2019 (lead-author papers first; full publication list on Google Scholar)
- TopologyL. Chen, Y. YinCO-FIRST, T. Lu, et al. Uncovering complex phonon interactions in Mg3Bi2-xSbx: topology and avoided crossings. Nature Communications 2026, doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-71754-9.
- TopologyC. Wang, Y. YinCORR, T. T. Huynh, M. S. Fuhrer, N. V. Medhekar. Edge-state stabilization and control in 2D topological crystalline insulators. Materials Today Physics 2025, 59, 101897.
- TopologyY. YinFIRST, C. Wang, M. S. Fuhrer, N. V. Medhekar. Extracting unconventional spin texture in the 2D topological crystalline insulator bismuthene via tuning bulk–edge interactions. Materials Today Physics 2023, 36, 101168.
- TopologyQ. Li, J. S. Smith, Y. YinCORR, C. Wang, M. V. Klymenko, J. H. Cole, N. V. Medhekar. Localized Wannier-function-based tight-binding models for 2D allotropes of bismuth. New Journal of Physics 2021, 23, 063403.
Entries 2–4 form the “Bismuth trilogy” — five years leading 2D topological bismuth theory, from tight-binding models to edge-state control.
- TopologyC. X. Trang, Q. Li, Y. YinCO-FIRST, et al. Crossover from 2D ferromagnetic insulator to wide-band-gap quantum anomalous Hall insulator in ultrathin MnBi2Te4. ACS Nano 2021, 15, 13444.
- TopologyY. YinFIRST, M. S. Fuhrer, N. V. Medhekar. Selective control of surface spin current in topological pyrite-type OsX2 (X = Se, Te) crystals. npj Quantum Materials 2019, 4, 47.
- Quantum geometryW. Zhao, Y. Zhang, Y. YinCO-FIRST, et al. Giant Berry curvature in the amorphous ferromagnet Co2MnGa. Matter 2025, 8, 101988.
- Quantum geometryY. Zhang, Y. YinCO-FIRST, G. Dubuis, T. Butler, N. V. Medhekar, S. Granville. Berry curvature origin of the thickness-dependent anomalous Hall effect in a ferromagnetic Weyl semimetal. npj Quantum Materials 2021, 6, 17.
- TopologyZ. Liu, B. Liu, Y. Yin, N. V. Medhekar. Generic approach to intrinsic magnetic second-order topological insulators via inverted p–d orbitals. Nano Letters 2024, 24, 11295.
- Quantum geometryW. Zhao, K. Xing, Y. Zhao, L. Chen, M. Hong, Y. Yin, et al. Room-temperature quantum metric effect in the kagome magnet TbMn6Sn6. Nature Communications 2025, 16, 6837.
- OpticsY. Zhang, J. Sung, Y. Yin, et al. Giant temperature-independent ultraviolet circular dichroism in Co2MnX (X = Ga, Ge) Heusler magnetic thin films. Physical Review Applied 2025, 24, 034052.
- OpticsB. Mallett, Y. Zhang, C. Pot, … Y. Yin, N. V. Medhekar, S. Granville. Using optical spectroscopy to probe the impact of atomic disorder on the Heusler alloy Co2MnGa. Physical Review Materials 2023, 7, 094203.
- Spin dynamicsJ. Wang, Y. Zhang, J. Hu, … Y. Yin, et al. Band-structure engineering to optimize spin-wave propagation in the Weyl ferromagnet Co2MnGa1-xGex. Advanced Materials 2025, 37, 2505704.
- Spin dynamicsM. Aoki, Y. Yin, S. Granville, et al. Gigantic anisotropy of self-induced spin–orbit torque in the Weyl ferromagnet Co2MnGa. Nano Letters 2023, 23, 6951.
Translation, Service & Collaborative Practice
- Lead inventor on a US patent application for a novel transistor material architecture (2025, US63/848,509) with start-up TQ Transistors, and contributed to its subsequent US funding application (2025–current).
- Liaison for a strategic R&D partnership between Monash University and Jiangxi Copper (Fortune 500), taken from first contact to a formal MoU signed in August 2024; also hosted delegations from Central South University, Wuhan University of Technology, and Shanghai University.
- Peer reviewer for Nature Communications and Communications Physics; presentations at the APS March Meeting and ICON-2DMAT.
- Quantum-physics networks — 4 papers (+3 under review) and 2 grants with Monash Physics and Astronomy since 2024; sustained partnerships with RMIT and Victoria University of Wellington / MacDiarmid Institute.
Referees
Prof. Michael S. Fuhrer, FAA — Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University.
Prof. Nikhil V. Medhekar — Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University.
Dr Simon Granville — Senior Scientist, Robinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.