Featured profile
Dr. Yong Cai
Physicist
Course of study:
PhD Physics 1993
New York-based, Dr Yong Cai is a recipient of a 2010 Alumni Award and a recognized world-leading expert in the area of Inelastic X-ray Scattering; an important technique using the bright and intense x-rays from the latest generation of synchrotron sources, for the precision investigation of the atomic and electronic properties of materials.
As an international student from China, he earned his PhD in Physics from La Trobe University in 1993, and has since spent most of his research career at state-of-the-art synchrotron facilities around the world.
Dr. Cai is currently the Inelastic X-ray Scattering Group Leader of the Photon Division at Brookhaven National Laboratory in US. He joined Brookhaven in December 2007, and has since been leading the effort to develop a new IXS beamline for the new synchrotron currently under construction at Brookhaven, aiming to achieve 10 times better resolution than any existing instrument in the world.
The project is funded by the US Department of Energy for a total cost of nearly $1 billion. This pioneering technology is expected to provide critical research capabilities for scientists to study the dynamic behaviors in disordered and biomolecular materials with nanometer scale in homogeneities in order to develop materials for more energy efficient applications.
Prior to his work at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Dr Cai played a leading role in the establishment of the Taiwan IXS Beamline at the SPring-8 Synchrotron in Japan, which is widely recognised as one of the premier IXS facilities in the world.
Dr. Cai has published more than eighty research articles in scientific journals and conference proceedings, and has given more than eighty invited lectures and other presentations in scientific conferences, colloquia, and seminars. At present, his main research interests include high-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering studies of correlated materials and materials under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature, high-resolution x-ray optics, and synchrotron beamline design and operation.
About Dr Cai’s time at La Trobe University
“La Trobe was my first ever foreign experience outside of China where I came from. Initially (it was) intimidating, but later full of excitement.
“What I remember the most of La Trobe is the community-like atmosphere, in and around the campus, the openness of the academic environment, and the strong support and encouragement I received from my teachers and fellow students in my academic life at the University.
“Another aspect that I valued dearly is the tolerance and acceptance of foreign students into their social life, by all my teachers and fellow students. I had numerous occasions being invited to visit their family homes and to their social events, where I experienced first-hand and learned to respect and value the differences between our cultures. These experiences made me into the person who I am today.”
