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Nanjing, China

Siyuan Kan（Eddie Kan）

AI4Science · Materials Informatics

Introduction

I am an undergraduate in Inorganic Non-metallic Materials Engineering at Nanjing Tech University, with a strong interest in exploring AI4Science.

My experimental research covers MOF precursor synthesis and pyrolysis/carburization to prepare ZrC, (Zr,Y)C and HfC nanopowders. In a separate line of work on Cf/(Hf,Zr,Ti)C–SiC composites, I study ceramic slurry preparation, SI–PIP densification and structure–property characterization. I have published one SCI-indexed paper.

At the intersection of AI and materials science, I developed a hybrid CNN–Transformer algorithm for powder XRD indexing, incorporating Bragg’s law and crystallographic constraints to improve accuracy. I also work on LLM-based workflows for structured information extraction from scientific literature, materials knowledge graphs, and research agents grounded in verifiable evidence. I received a national-level award in the Suzhou Laboratory AI + New Materials competition. My research brings together experimentation, reproducible computation and practical scientific tool development.

Experience

AI for Science Institute (AISI), Beijing / National Center for Nanoscience and Technology / DP Technology (algorithm internship)Algorithm Intern, Research Agent Applications / Materials Agent Platform Development / Literature-to-Knowledge Corpus Development2026.01 — 2027.01

Beijing, China

  • Work overview: Build scientific literature corpora and a materials research agent platform for MOFs, COFs and metal nanoparticles. Develop automated pipelines for retrieving papers and supporting information (SI), extracting structured data with LLMs, and auditing data quality. Use Neo4j, LangGraph and MCP for graph-enhanced retrieval, tool orchestration and evidence tracing to support synthesis recipe recommendations and research questions spanning multiple papers.
MOF/COFLLMNeo4jLangGraphMCP
Engineering Research Center of Advanced Lightweight Materials and Components, Ministry of EducationResearch Assistant2024.6 — 2028.6

Nanjing, China

  • Work overview: Research the synthesis and properties of ZrC, (Zr,Y)C and HfC nanopowders and Cf/(Hf,Zr,Ti)C-SiC composites. Responsibilities include controlled MOF precursor synthesis, pyrolysis and carbothermal conversion, ceramic slurry dispersion, and SI-PIP densification process optimization. Use XRD, XPS, Raman and SEM/TEM to characterize phases and microstructure alongside mechanical, oxidation and ablation testing. Investigate solid-solution doping, densification, strengthening and toughening, and mechanisms of oxidation and ablation resistance; also contribute to process validation for large components.
MOFsPyrolysis & carbothermal conversionSI-PIPXRD/XPS/RamanSEM/TEM
Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (JITRI) · Department of Overseas CooperationWAITRO Secretariat Assistant2025.05 — Present

Nanjing/Shanghai, China; Frechen, Germany

  • Compile information on collaborative projects, coordinate communication between institutions, and support WAITRO Secretariat activities related to international research cooperation and industry partnerships.
  • Draft and compile Chinese- and English-language partnership materials, prepare meeting agendas and participant information, and create promotional materials.
International cooperationChinese–English writingProject coordinationInformation consolidation

Projects

For More Info ↗

Competitions

China International College Students' Innovation Competition (2025)National Silver Award · Project Lead2025.03 — 2025.10Led the development and commercialization of multicomponent ceramic targets for magnetron sputtering. Synthesized precursor ceramic powders and established a scale-up process, increasing yield from 15% to 38%. Optimized slurry preparation, forming and sintering to develop YSZ, AZO and related product lines. Participated in industrial application testing and independently prepared the pitch deck and business plan.
7th Global Campus Artificial Intelligence Algorithm Elite Competition (Industry Track · Challenge set and judged by Suzhou Laboratory · AI for Unknown-Phase Indexing in New Materials)National First Prize · Completed independently, without an adviser2025.09 — 2025.12Designed a CNN+Transformer multitask deep-learning framework for indexing unknown phases in powder XRD data, using competition-provided simulated patterns with noise, impurity peaks and instrumental errors. The framework jointly classified crystal systems, predicted unit-cell parameters and assigned Miller indices to diffraction peaks. Bragg’s law and crystallographic constraints informed peak-position calibration, impurity-peak identification and post-processing, improving accuracy and stability under these disturbances. The central task was to predict unit-cell parameters, assign hkl indices to each diffraction peak and identify impurity peaks. Training and validation on 7014 noisy simulated XRD patterns achieved AvgAcc 73.6% and RMSE 6.03.
The 19th “Challenge Cup” National College Students’ Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition, Main TrackNational Second Prize · Second Project Lead2025.04 — 2025.11Developed MOF-derived ZrC nanopowders and Cf/ZrC composites for integrated load-bearing and stealth applications in hypersonic vehicles. Advanced controlled MOF precursor synthesis, high-purity nanopowder preparation and composite densification to obtain spherical ZrC powders of 20–100 nm. Combined ball milling, slurry infiltration and hot-press sintering to fabricate Cf/ZrC composites with 97% relative density. Systematically studied powder composition, morphology and sinterability, as well as composite densification and infrared radiation across a wide temperature range, to develop materials and processing routes for ultrahigh-temperature load-bearing structures with stealth functionality.
Completed 1 national undergraduate innovation training project and mentored 1 provincial project through completion; also received 5 other provincial first prizes.

Education

Nanjing Tech UniversityB.Eng. in progress · School of Materials Science and Engineering / Inorganic Non-metallic Materials Engineering
2024.09 — 2028.06Nanjing, China
More than ten honors, including a “Ruihua Cup” University Student of the Year nomination (25 nominees university-wide each year), the Alishan Scholarship (4 recipients university-wide each year), and the University First-Class Scholarship (top 5%).

Technical Skills

Programming Languages

Frameworks & Tools

Cheminformatics

RDKitIndigoKetcherOpen BabelSMILES/SMARTSMolecular DescriptorsFingerprintsMarkush Structures

Databases

Chemical Synthesis / Materials Experiments

MOF-derived oxide and carbide nanopowders

Metal/ligand ratios and solvent concentration controlSolvothermal/sol–gel synthesisControlled synthesis of MOF precursorsHeat treatment in tube and vacuum graphite furnacesPyrolysis atmosphere, carbonization temperature and dwell-time optimizationPreparation of ZrC, (Zr,Y)C, and HfC nanopowdersXRD phase and peak-shape analysisXPS/Raman/FTIR structural and chemical-state characterizationSEM/TEM/EDS morphological and compositional characterization

Continuous-fiber-reinforced SiC-based composites

Ceramic powder dispersion and slurry ball millingFiber preform impregnationCombined PIP–SI impregnation and densificationOptimization of ceramic slurry and densification processesMechanical property testingOxidation/ablation performance testingLarge-component process validation (contributor)