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Jeehyun Yang

Photo of Jeehyun Yang

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109

Curriculum Vitae:

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Website:

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Member of:

Laboratory Studies

JPL Postdoctoral Fellow

Biography

Dr. Jeehyun Yang was born and raised in South Korea until high school and then moved to Japan for his undergraduate in Resource Engineering from Hokkaido University in Sapporo. For his Ph.D., he joined Professor William H. Green's group in the Department of Chemical Engineering to investigate bottom-up polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) formation using both quantum mechanics and laser absorption spectroscopy combined time-of-flight mass spectrometry. At JPL, he is currently working on experimental and modeling combined study to understand exoplanetary atmosphere in detail.

Education

  • Ph.D., in Physical Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2022)
  • B.E., in Resource Engineering, Hokkaido University (2016)

Professional Experience

  • JPL Postdoctoral Fellow, 2022-present
  • Research Assistant, MIT, 2016-2022

Community Service

Peer-review for Journal of Physical Chemistry A and Astronomy and Astrophysics

Research Interests

  • Planet terraforming
  • Reaction kinetic modeling and experiment
  • Exoplanet atmosphere
  • Planetary atmosphere
  • Early Earth’s atmosphere

Selected Awards

  • MIT Presidential Fellowship, 2016
  • Valedictorian, School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Japan, 2016
  • William Wheeler Prize (Highest honor in the department), Hokkaido University, Japan, 2016
  • 10th Korea-Japan Joint Government Scholarship (Full tuition + Full stipend), 2009-13, 2015-16

Selected Publications

  • Tsai S-M, Lee EKH, Powell D, et al, including Yang J, Photochemically produced SO2 in the atmosphere of WASP-39b, Nature in print, 2023
  • Yang J, Gudipati MS, Henderson BL, Fleury B. High-fidelity reaction kinetic modeling of hot-Jupiter atmospheres incorporating thermal and UV-photochemistry enhanced by metastable CO (a3Π). The Astrophysical Journal, 2023, 947, 1, 26
  • Yang J, Smith MC, Prendergast BM, Chu T-C, Green WH. C14H10 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Formation by Acetylene Addition to Naphthalenyl Radicals Observed. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2021, 23, 14325-14339
  • Chu T-C, Smith MC, Yang J, Liu M, Green WH. Theoretical study on the HACA chemistry of naphthalenyl radicals and acetylene: the formation of C12H8, C14H8, and C14H10 species. International Journal of Chemical Kinetics, 2020, 52, 11, 752-768
  • Smith MC, Liu G, Buras ZJ, Chu T-C, Yang J and Green WH. Direct Measurement of Radical-Catalyzed C6H6 Formation from Acetylene and Validation of Theoretical Rate Coefficients for C2H3+C2H2 and C4H5 + C2H2 Reactions, Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2020, 124, 14, 2871-2884