Joel Yuen-Zhou

2026 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Joel Yuen-Zhou

Current Position:
Professor and Kurt and Beatrice Shuler Chair in Theoretical Chemical Physics

Institution:
University of California, San Diego

Discipline:
Theoretical Chemistry

Recognized for: Developing theoretical frameworks that explain how molecules interact with trapped light and how electron spins in organic molecules control chemical reactions and advance quantum technologies.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Theoretical Chemistry, Polaritonics, Spin Photophysics, Quantum Optics, Condensed Matter Theory 

Previous Positions:

Professor, Department of Physics, University of California San Diego
Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego
Robert J. Silbey Independent Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Excitonics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, USA (Advisor: Alán Aspuru-Guzik)
Senior Scientist, University of Queensland, Australia
Ph.D., Harvard University, USA (Advisor: Alán Aspuru-Guzik)

Research Summary:

Understanding how light and magnetism influence molecules could open new ways to control chemical reactions and design future quantum and catalytic technologies. Joel Yuen-Zhou, PhD, develops theoretical frameworks that explain how molecules respond when they interact with confined light and magnetic fields. His work helps reveal how these interactions can influence chemical reactions, move energy, and create new tools for sensing at extremely small scales. By building models that connect theory with experiment, Yuen-Zhou’s research is helping scientists understand how light and magnetism can be used to guide chemistry in unprecedented ways and to design future molecular technologies.

“I dedicate this award to my group members and collaborators who have patiently accompanied me throughout this journey. They have taught me to think about science with intuition and elegance. I haven’t stopped being a student, and this is wonderful.”

Key Publications:

  1. J. B. Pérez-Sánchez, A. Koner, N. P Stern, and J. Yuen-Zhou, Simulating molecular polaritons in the collective regime using few-molecule models, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 120(15) e2219223120 (2023). 
  2. Z. T. Brawley, S. Pannir-Sivajothi, J. E. Yim, Y. R. Poh, J. Yuen-Zhou, M. Sheldon, Vibrational weak and strong coupling modify a chemical reaction via cavity-mediated radiative energy transfer, Nat. Chem. 17, 439–447 (2025). 
  3. Y. R. Poh, D. Morozov, N. P. Kazmierczak, R. G. Hadt, G. Groenhof, and J. Yuen-Zhou, Alternant hydrocarbon diradicals as optically addressable molecular qubits, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 146, 22, 15549 (2024). 
  4. Y. R. Poh, A. Koner, M. Reitz, and J. Yuen-Zhou, Photoredox catalysis with spin magnetic field effects: a scheme for chiral resolution, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 147, 40, 36579–36588 (2025). 

Other Honors:

2025 International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science Medal
2025 NSF/UKRI Award for Exploiting Quantum Information in Chemical Systems
2025 Brown Investigator Award
2024 C&EN Trailblazers
2024 Isaiah Shavitt Lectureship, Technion
2024 Hirschfelder Visitor, University of Wisconsin–Madison
2023 Nanophotonics Early Career Award, De Gruyter
2022 Journal of Physical Chemistry C Lectureship Award, ACS
2021 W. M. Keck Foundation Research Grant
2021 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
2021 Sloan Fellowship Award
2020 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists Finalist
2019 ACS Petroleum Research Fund New Directions Award
2019 ACS OpenEye Junior Faculty Award in Computational Chemistry
2019 Promising Scientist Award of the Centre de Mécanique Ondulatoire Appliquée
2018 DOE Early Career Award
2017 NSF CAREER Award

In the Media:

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