Congratulations to the winning team from A*STAR's Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC)'s Dr Phuong Khuong Ong and Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE)’s Dr Liu Huajun, Dr Ivan Tan Chee Kiang, Dr Kui Yao and Chen Yi Fan.

The winning publication (Giant piezoelectricity in oxide thin films with nanopillar structure) provides a general approach to designing and optimizing various functional materials. The successful implementation of this strategy in the bulk material is promising for producing Niobium-based, lead-free bulk ceramic with competitive performance properties to lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which has been recognised for the 2021 Charles Hatchett Award.

Credit: image from IMRE

The 2021 Charles Hatchett Award's winning publication has provided a general design strategy of constructing nanoscale structural and polar heterogeneity for improving the piezoelectric performance of Niobium-based materials.

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