Welcome to the Tian research group in the Department of Chemical Engineering at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan, Taiwan - The Tian group @NCKU

The Tian group @NCKU

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^NewsOpen positions(2025/05 updated)

We are currently seeking one Postdoctoral Researcher with experience in computations and simulations (starting August 2025 or later). A few Ph.D. positions are also available. Interested candidates are invited to email Prof. Tian (hktian@gs.ncku.edu.tw) with a copy of their CV and publication list. Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Upcoming scheduled conferences and seminars

(Session chair and oral) 2025, 10/12-10/16, ECS Fall Meeting @Chicago, USA
(Seminar talk) 2025, 10/21, Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science, Michigan State University (MSU), USA.
(Chair) 2025, 10/31-11/02, 2025 International Conference on Green Electrochemical Technologies (台灣電化學年會, 2025 ICGET-Tw) @NCKU
(Committee) 2025, 11/29-11/30, 2025 TwIChE (2025台灣化工年會) @NCKU
(Invited talk) 2025, 12/10, Green Energy Battery Conference (綠色能源電池研討會) @Ming Chi University of Technology (MCUT), Taiwan
(Invited Talk) 2026, 07/27-07/29, International Conference of Optimization and Machine Learning @NTNU, Taipei

Activity News

^News 2025/10 – Welcome a new undergraduate student, Kai-Chun Chen (陳楷鈞, B3), to join our group.
^News 2025/09 – Prof. Tian was invited to deliver an invited talk at the International Workshop on Multiscale, Multiphysics, and Multidisciplinary Research on Materials and Structures (m3MS), held at the National University of Singapore. During the workshop, he had fruitful discussions on computational materials science with Prof. Masato Yoshiya, Prof. Sergei Manzhos, Dr. Craig A. J. Fisher, Dr. Hao Sun, and Prof. Wenhui Mi. Prof. Tian also visited Prof. Pei-Chen Su at Nanyang Technological University.

^News2025/07 – Welcome a new PhD student, Chun-Kai Yeh (葉峻愷, D1), to join our group.
^News 2025/07 – Welcome new graduate and undergraduate students, Che-An Cheng (鄭哲安, M1), Yi-Ci Lai (賴奕慈, M1), Ping-Chieh Cheng (鄭秉杰, M1), Wei-Siang Lo (羅韋翔, M1), Chun-Yen Yang (楊峻諺, M1), Xin-Yi Yang(楊欣怡, M1), Jo-Tzu Chiang (江若慈, B3), and Yu-Hsuan Tseng (曾郁琁, B3) to join our group.
^News2025/06 – Prof. Ken Sakaushi from the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and the University of Tsukuba visited our group for in-depth discussions on our collaborative research and proposal regarding 2D MOF electrocatalysts and OER continuum modeling. We also enjoyed some memorable social gatherings together—see you again soon, Ken-san!

^News2025/06 – Prof. Tian delivered an invited talk at the 11th General Conference of the Asian Consortium on Computational Materials Science (ACCMS-11) in Yokohama, Japan. 3 PhD students—Ming-Yuan Hung (洪名遠, D2), Yu-Ting Tai (戴郁庭, D1), and Yu-Cheng Kuo (郭祐丞, D1)—along with one undergraduate student, Jing-Yan Wu (吳敬焱, B4), presented their research through oral and poster sessions. Beyond the enriching academic exchanges with international scholars and students, we also had a wonderful time exploring the vibrant city of Yokohama.(Click here for more images)

^News2025/06 – Welcome new undergraduate students, 邱聿岑 (B2 student), 葉秉龍 (B2 student), and 許雁茹 (B2 student). We also welcome new administrative assistant, Zih-Rong Siao (蕭滋融), to join our group.
^News2025/05-our group welcomed Tabea Huss, a third-year Ph.D. student from Dr. Christoph Scheurer’s team at the Fritz-Haber Institute in Germany, for a productive short-term visit. During her stay, research was shared on the development and application of machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIP) and continuum modeling for all-solid-state batteries. Beyond the scientific discussions, the visit also included opportunities to explore local culture and historical sites in Tainan.

^News2025/05 – Congratulations to Prof. Tian on his promotion to Associate Professor.

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^News2025/04 – Prof. Tian and six students attended the 2025 Symposium on Thermodynamics and Process Systems Engineering at Sun Moon Lake(日月潭), Nantou. Yu-Cheng Kuo (郭祐丞, D1), Yu-Ting Tai (戴郁庭, D1), Rui-Tong Kuo (郭瑞桐, M2), and Jing-Yan Wu (吳敬焱, B4) gave oral presentations, while Wei-Xiang Zhou (周維祥, M1) and Li-Lun Lin (林立倫, M1) presented posters. (Click here for more images)

^News2025/04 – Welcome a new undergraduate student, Li-Chen Lin (林立宸, B3 student), to join our group.

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2025/01 – We were delighted to welcome Prof. Yoshitaka Tateyama (Prof. Tian’s former postdoc advisor at NIMS) from Science Tokyo to our group and NCKU! Prof. Tateyama gave two outstanding talks—one at the NCKU ChemE department and another at the AGEM conference. We also had a fantastic time exploring Tainan City together, capped off with great conversations over beer. Looking forward to our next reunion!
2025/01 – Welcome a new undergraduate student, Hong-Lin Chen (陳泓霖, B3 student), to join our group.

Publication News

^News2025/09 – Congratulations to Yu-Ting Tai (戴郁庭, D2 student) on her 1st-author work, now published in the Chemical Communications (IF: 4.2). The publication, titled “Revealing cobalt-induced Li-ion trapping at the LATP/LCO interface with a fine-tuned machine learning interatomic potential“.
^News2025/09 – Congratulations to Yu-Cheng Kuo (郭祐丞, D2 student) on his 1st-author work and successful collaboration with Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (日月光半導體), now published in the Electrochimica Acta (IF: 5.6). The publication, titled “Validated Multiphysics Simulation of Die-Scale Co-Planarity and Mass Transport Limitations in Copper Pillar Electroplating“.
^News2025/04 – Congratulations to Yu-Cheng Kuo (郭祐丞, D1 student) and Ming-Yuan Hung (洪名遠, D2 student) on the successful collaboration with Prof. Chen-Sheng Yeh @NCKU, Prof. Wei-Peng Li @KMU, and Prof. Yi-Hsin Chien @FCU now published in the Advanced Materials (IF: 27.4), titled “Utilizing Electron-Sink-Enhanced Nanoshells for Amplified Nanoplasmonic SERS-Based In Situ Detection of Cancer Cells, Linking Signal Enhancement with Cellular Damage”
2025/1 – Congratulations to Feye-Feng Lu (陸飛鳳) on her 1st-author work and successful collaboration with Prof. Yoshitaka Tateyama @Science Tokyo, now published in the Journal of Power Sources (IF: 8.1). The publication, titled “Dual Influence of Protonation on Li-ion Transport in Garnet Solid Electrolytes: A First-Principles Study,” showcases their remarkable research achievements.

Award and Grant News

^News2025/10 – Congratulations to Chun-Kai Yeh (葉峻愷, D1 student) for being awarded the NSTC PhD Fellowship (國科會博士生研究獎學金), which provides NT$40,000 per month to support his doctoral studies.
^NewsCongratulations to Prof. Tian for getting the 2025 LCY Outstanding Junior Professor Award (李長榮學術研究傑出青年教授獎)
^NewsCongratulations to Ming-Yuan Hung (洪名遠, D2) for receiving the NCKU-AISSM scholarship (成大半導體學院跨國研修獎助學金, 50,000 NTD) to assist with his internship at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan, taking place from 2025/11 to 2026/01
^NewsCongratulations to Ming-Yuan Hung (洪名遠, D2) for getting the NCKU scholarship (成大跨國雙向研修獎助學金, 48,600 NTD) to further support his internship at National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan from 2025/11 to 2026/01.
^News2025/09 – Congratulations to Ming-Yuan Hung (洪名遠, D2 student) for receiving an ECS Meeting Travel Grant (USD 795) to support his participation in the 248th ECS Meeting (Fall 2025) in Chicago, USA, this October, where he will deliver an oral presentation.
^News 2025/07 – Congratulations to Ming-Yuan Hung (洪名遠, D2 student) and Yu-Ting Tai (戴郁庭, D1 student) for receiving the NSTC Grant for Graduate Students to Attend International Conferences, awarded 40,000 NTD and 50,000 NTD respectively. The grant will support their participation in the 2025 ECS Fall Meeting in Chicago, USA, this October, where both will deliver oral presentations.
^News2025/07 – Congratulations to Qing-Wei Huang, (黃慶維, B4 student), whose proposal, “結合第一原理計算與機器學習探索MOF材料在氧氣還原反應選擇率調控中的潛力”, was awarded an NSTC undergraduate grant (國科會大專生專題計畫)
^News Congratulations to Prof. Tian on receiving the NSTC 2030 Cross-Generation Young Scholars Award – Emerging Young Scholars (國科會2030新秀學者)! Starting in August 2025, a four-year research project on hybrid solid electrolytes for solid-state batteries will be launched under this program.
^News2025/07 – Congrats to Ming-Yuan Hung (洪名遠, D2) and Yu-Hsuan Lin (林昱萱, M1) for getting the honorable English oral presentation award and the best poster award at the 2025 Taiwanese Colloid and Interface Society.

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2025/04 – Congrats to Yu-Cheng Kuo (郭祐丞, D1) for getting the Best Oral Presentation Award at the 2025 Symposium on Thermodynamics and Process Systems Engineering
2025/04 – We are pleased to announce that our proposal, titled “Application of Machine Learning Interatomic Potential Models to the Study of Grain Boundary Structural Evolution and Mechanical Properties in All-Solid-State Batteries,” (應用機器學習原子間勢能模型於全固態電池的晶界結構演變與機械性質研究) has been awarded by Miin Wu School of Computing, NCKU. The project will be conducted from 2025/04 to 2026/03.
2025/04 – We are delighted to share that our international collaboration proposal with Prof. Ken Sakaushi from NIMS and the University of Tsukuba, Japan, titled “Combining Machine Learning and First-Principles Calculations to Elucidate the Influence of High-Entropy Alloy and Ruthenium Dioxide Interfaces on Oxygen Evolution Reaction Activity” (結合機器學習與第一原理計算解析高熵合金與二氧化釕界面相對氧氣析出反應活性的影響), has been selected for funding by NCKU. As part of this collaboration, we will be hosting postdoctoral researchers from Prof. Sakaushi’s group in June 2025.
2025/03 – Congratulations to Ming-Yuan Hung (洪名遠, D2 student) for getting the fully funded internship position at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, 日本國立物質材料研究機構), Japan. He will be working with Dr. Yen-Ju Wu’s group for our collaborative projects for 3 months from 2025 Nov. to 2026 Jan.
2025/02 – Congratulations to Yu-Ting Tai (戴郁庭, D1 student) for being awarded the NSTC PhD Fellowship (國科會博士生研究獎學金), which provides NT$40,000 per month to support her doctoral studies.
2025/01 – We are pleased to announce that our proposal for the Joint Development Project (JDP) with TSMC (台積電), titled “Numerical Simulations of Wet Chemical Cleaning and Lateral Etching Behavior for Small Trenches and Nano-Sheets,” has been awarded. The project will be conducted from 2025/03 to 2026/02.
2025/01 – We are excited to announce that our two-year NSTC international collaboration proposal (2025/04–2027/03) with Dr. Yen-Ju Wu at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, 日本國立物質材料研究機構) has been awarded! The project, titled “利用資料驅動的機器學習模型和第一原理計算進行能源材料的策略性逆向設計,” sets the stage for impactful collaborations and student exchanges over the next two years. We look forward to productive outcomes!
2025/01 – Congrats to Yu-Ting Tai (戴郁庭, D1 student) for the Ministry of Education (MOE) Doctoral Scholarship, which provides 30,000 NTD/month.

©2021 by Hong-Kang Tian