Dr. Yasser Hassan has been working as an Assistant Professor of Inorganic Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar, since 2022.

Research Activity:

Dr. Hassan’s research at Qatar University focuses on developing efficient synthetic approaches based on automated experimentation (robotics) to accelerate the discovery of advanced, smart, and functional semiconductor nanomaterials. His lab at Qatar University involves nanomaterials research, including renewable energy and artificial intelligence applications in materials and applied physics. Hassan’s Lab focuses on innovative and diversified research in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, and Physics. Mainly Hassan’s team work on innovative synthetic approaches for nanoscale materials using Green and Sustainable Chemistry and self-driving automated labs for accelerated thin-film technology, medical imaging, and IR sensors.

• Lead research on functional nanomaterials for sustainable energy, specializing in automated experimentation for accelerating materials discovery.
• Pioneering machine learning applications in materials discovery, with collaborations to enhance NLP-driven semantic data extraction, creating automated experimental FAIR databases (Findable, Accessible,
Interoperable, and Reusable) for innovation acceleration.
• Secured competitive research funding totaling over USD 1 M from prestigious bodies including QRDI, Marubeni, and Qatar University.
• Developed high-impact partnerships with MIT, Fudan University, and KAUST University; advancing AI applications in materials synthesis.
• Authored 26 Q1 publications (H-index: 12, Scopus) and currently supervising two Master’s projects on NLP-driven materials discovery and nanomaterial coatings.
• Recipient of a visiting scholar position for 5 years at MIT, initiating annual summer research engagements.
• Managing four research assistants on projects in CO2 electrocatalysis and sodium-ion battery technology, and ML in materials discovery.

Background:

Dr. Hassan obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry with Professor Greg Scholes and Professor Mitch Winnik at the University of Toronto in 2016. In doing so, he developed reliable and reproducible synthetic procedures to fabricate monodispersed quantum dots and hybrid perovskite 2D materials with functionalized surfaces suitable for optoelectronic applications. He also developed extensive knowledge of materials, nanochemistry, applied physics, solar energy conversion, and photodetection applications.

In 2016, he commenced a postdoctoral research contract at the University of Oxford with Professor Henry Snaith. He undertook experimental and modeling research work to solve various scientific challenges in nanomaterials-based thin-film technology. His research work at Oxford resulted in multiple academic journal publications. He co-authored 20+ peer-reviewed papers and five patents. His production at Oxford is perhaps best embodied in the manuscripts recently published in JACS, Adv. Mater., and a letter in Nature as the first and corresponding author probing the mysterious instability of perovskite materials. Dr. Hassan’s work in Nature Jounral (2021) will transform how we harvest sunlight (using multijunction photovoltaics), light the world, sense radiations, and clean nuclear waste. After Oxford, he moved to Professor Ted Sargent’s lab at the University of Toronto, pursuing a new adventure in the applications of nanomaterials in photodetectors and solar energy.