Recently, Professor Daniel Q. Tan from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) co-published a high-impact paper as a corresponding author in the top journal Nature Communications by collaborating with Sichuan University. The study, titled "Excellent Hardening Effect in Lead-Free Piezoceramics by Embedding Local Cu-doped Defect Dipoles in Phase Boundary Engineering," proposed a new strategy to achieve excellent hardening effect in lead-free piezoceramics, paving the way for their application in high-power devices. The study was supported by the MATEC open research program, reinforcing GTIIT scholars’ leading role in international materials research.

Nature Communications is a sub-journal of the renowned and international journal Nature, widely recognized as a high-impact publication in fields such as materials science and chemistry. Known for its rigorous peer-review process and strong academic influence, it consistently ranks in the JCR Q1 category, with a 2024 impact factor of 14.7.

Research background

Solutions and results

Mesoscopic ferroelectric domain structure and polarization hysteresis behavior

Electromechanical properties and domain evolution model

Conclusion

Paper link

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58269-5

谭启(Daniel Tan)

Professor and Deputy Head

of Materials Science 

and Engineering Program

Daniel Tan was recruited and appointed by Technion - Israel Institute of Technology as the professor of Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in August 2018. Dr. Tan received a Ph. D. in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1998, and a Ph.D in Solid State Physics from Chinese Academy of Science in 1989 following Academician T.S.Ke. He used to teach at the University of Science and Technology of China. In 1994, he moved to the United States as a visiting scientist (Argonne National Laboratory and UIUC). He joined Honeywell Corp. in 1998 as a Sr. Scientist to develop high-K ferroelectric materials for semiconductor industry. In 2000, he was recruited to CTS Corp. as a Sr. Staff Engineer to develop high performance piezoelectric transducers and cell phone antenna materials. In the following 12 years, he dedicated his passion, innovation and pioneering efforts in Nanodielectrics and Energy Storage to General Electric. In 2016, he joined W.L. Gore as a Sr. Polymer Dielectric Scientist to further the high performance polymer investigations for capacitor and membrane technology. 

Dr. Tan has authored/co-authored over 120 journal papers, 2 college teaching textbooks, 3 book chapters, and 50 corporate internal reports. As an innovator, he holds 60 patents and trade secrets in the field of ceramics, polymers, energy storage and electronic components. He has pioneered development in nanodielectric composites, high temperature and high energy density capacitors as a principal scientist for industry and US government. He is the recipient of various awards including the First Place Prize of Natural Science Award of Chinese Academy of Science, GE Global Research Innovation Award, 2022 Best Teaching Award of Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, and The Most Worthy Technology Investment Award from the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair 2023. He is a member of MRS, ACERS, SPIE, iMAPS and IEEE and reviewers of several journals.

Text: Daniel Tan, GTIIT News & Public Affairs

Photos: Daniel Tan