Zhiyao Yin, Ph.D.
Laser spectroscopist, plasma/combustion scientist, data enthusiast and hobby programmer
Stuttgart, Germany
Projects
CARSpy
- Comprehensive physical models: G-matrix, Expoential Gap Model, Voigt line profiles, T-K convolution
- Optional chemical equilibrium (with Cantera)
- Optional vibrational and rotational nonequilibrium
- Extendable for various species and CARS configurations
- Interactive webapp based on Dash-Plotly
MRPOD
- 2D discrete wavelet decomposition and reconstruction
- Principle Component Analysis (PCA) in well-defined frequency domain
PyLAT
- Classical reconstruction methods (e.g. ART, SIRT, Landweber)
- Tikhonov regularization
- Neural network (e.g., CNN) based reconstruction (planned)
Pythonize
- Tutorial-style blog posts based on executable Jupyter Notebooks
- Central topics include laser spectroscopy, fluid dynamics, machine learning and finance
Work
2014 - Present
Research Scientist
- Highspeed laser diagnostics for the quantification of temperature, velocity and species concentrations in next-gen combustion systems
- Quantitative spray imaging for particle sizing and velocimetry
- Machine-learning based data analysis, especially for multidimensional image time series (PCA, CNN, Autoencoders)
- Project subtask lead: "Soot Processes and Radiation in Aeronautical Innovative Combustion (SOPRANO)" (EU2020, Grant Agreement No.690724)
- Spectroscopy algorithm development with Python
- Principle Investigator: "Understanding the turbulent flame dynamics of jet-stabilized gas turbine combustors" (Helmholtz Postdoc Fellowship, Grant PD-112)
2013 - 2014
PostDoc
2008 - 2013
Research Associate
- Quantitative laser spectroscopies in nonequilibrium low-temperature plasmas
- Kinetic modeling and applications of plasma-assisted combustion
- Project subtask lead: "Fundamental aspects of plasma-assisted combustion" (AFOSR)
Education
2013
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering
Fuel oxidation and ignition by nanosecond pulse discharge at elevated temperatures
2008
B.S. in Naval Architecture
2D Simulation of supercavitation on a NACA0012 airfoil
Awards/Certificates
2020
TensorFlow Developer Certificate
ID: 25378502
2020
DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer Specialization
Computer vision, Sequences, Time Series, Natural Language Processing
2019
telc Deutsch C1
Prädikat: Gut
2017
Best Paper
DOI: 10.1115/GT2017-65003
2014
Helmholtz Postdoc
3-year program with 150 k€ funding
2014
Distinguished Paper
DOI: 10.1016/j.proci.2014.05.073
2012
Distinguished Paper
DOI: 10.1016/j.proci.2012.07.015
2008
Distinguished University Fellowship
2-year full graduate school fellowship in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Skills
Experimental Systems
(kHz-Rate) High Energy Solid-State and Dye Lasers, (kHz-Rate, intensified) CCD/CMOS Camera Systems, and Nanosecond Pulse Discharges
Optical Diagnostics
Mie Scattering, Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), Laser Absorption Tomography, Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (CARS), (Planar) Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF), (Microscopic) Laser Shadowgraphy, Phosphors Thermometry, and Emission Spectroscopy
Programming
Python, Matlab, HTML/(S)CSS, and C++
Softwares
LaTeX, LabView, Catia, Origin, and DaVis
Machine Learning
TensorFlow, Scikit-Learn, and Pandas
Web Dev
Plotly/Dash, Django, Jekyll, Sphinx, and Bootstrap
Languages
Chinese
Native speaker (Mandarin)
English
Fluent (C2+)
German
Fluent (C1+)
French
(~A2-B1)
Japanese
(~A1-A2)
Selected Publications
2021
Experimental investigations of superheated and supercritical injections of liquid fuels
Spray shadowgraphy under superheated and supercritical injection conditions
2020
Time-frequency localization of intermittent dynamics in a bistable turbulent swirl flame
kHz-rate visualization of turbulence-flame interactions, Mutiresolution analysis, Wavelet-enhanced principle component analysis (PCA), Pattern recognition in image time series
2019
Wall temperature measurements in gas turbine combustors with thermographic phosphors
Sooting flames, surface thermometry under elevated pressure, quantification of heat loss through combustor chamber
2018
Experimental study of transient mechanisms of bistable flame shape transitions in a swirl combustor
Quantitative analysis of flame bistability, Spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD)
2017
Responses of combustor surface temperature to flame shape transitions in a turbulent bistable swirl flame
kHz-rate surface thermometry and flame visualization, phosphor thermometry, boundary conditions on combustion stability
2016
Plasma flow reactor studies of H2/O2/Ar kinetics
Plasma flow reactor, in-situ and ex-situ diagnostics, plasma kinetics
2015
Time-resolved radical species and temperature distributions in an Ar-O2-H2 mixture excited by a nanosecond pulse discharge
Two-photon laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF), quantitative species concentrations and gas temperature, 1-D plasma kinetics modeling
2014
Effects of signal corrections on measurements of temperature and OH concentrations using laser-induced fluorescence
Quantitative OH laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), beam attenuation, signal trapping, LIF modeling
2013
Measurements of temperature and hydroxyl radical generation/decay in lean fuel-air mixtures excited by a repetitively pulsed nanosecond discharge
Picosecond coherent anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS), quantitative OH laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), nanosecond pulse discharge, plasma-assisted oxidation
2012
Measurements and kinetic modeling of energy coupling in volume and surface nanosecond pulse discharges
Volumetric and surface discharges, plasma imaging, plasma kinetic modeling
About
Where I have been
I grew up in the now (in)famous city of Wuhan in China and studied Naval Architecture at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology there. After that, I was trained as an experimentalist in laser spectroscopy and plasma physics at the Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics Laboratory at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, USA. I’m currently a research scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Stuttgart, Germany. With my colleagues at the Institute of Combustion Technology at DLR, I’m working on new combustion systems that could handle low-carbon, sustainable fuels for both stationary gas turbines and aircraft engines.
What I am interested in
As a latecomer to programming, I only started learning Python in my very late 20s, mostly to replace the costly Matlab for processing experimental data. Programming and data science have since grown on me and have kept me busy in front of the computer during most of my free time (which have become especially excessive in this pandemic).
I’m also into:
- Tinkering with web dev frameworks (Django, Plotly/Dash, Jekyll, Bootstrap)
- Reading novels (Harper Lee, Kurt Vonnegut, David Mitchell, Robert A. Heinlein, Ted Chiang, Kazuo Ishiguro, and J.K. Rowling)
- Jogging in the woods while listening to podcasts
- Hiking the GR trails
- Learning to draw with pen, brush and ink
- Learning new languages (Japanese and French at the moment)
So if anything piques your interest on this site, don’t hesitate to get in touch!