Cao, Yang

Yang Cao

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Email yang.cao@uconn.edu
Phone (860) 486-0915
Mailing Address Electrical and Computer Engineering 371 Fairfield Way
U-4157 Storrs, Connecticut 06269-4157
Campus Storrs
Link Department Page
Google Scholar Link

Brief Bio

Dr. Yang Cao was graduated with B.S. and M.S. in physics from Tongji University in Shanghai, China, and received his PhD from the University of Connecticut in 2002, after which he served as a senior electrical engineer at GE Global Research Center until 2013. He is currently a full professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the University of Connecticut. Dr. Cao is also the Assistant Director of Research of Institute of Materials Science, Director of the Electrical Insulation Research Center, and the Site Director of the NSF iUCRC Center on High Voltage/Temperature Materials & Structures (Phase I). His research interests are in the physics of materials under extremely high field and the development of new dielectric materials, particularly the polymeric nanostructured materials, for energy efficient power conversion and renewables integrations, as well as for novel medical diagnostic imaging devices.

(1) High electric field phenomena and devices;

(2) Polymeric nanostructured materials with game changing characteristics for energy efficient power conversion and renewables integrations;

(3) High voltage engineering in power and medical;

(4) Grid asset management & diagnosis and prognosis of electrical degradation.

  • ARPA-e, “Dual-use Converter-in-Fluid Integrated Vertical-stack kilo-ampere SiC Submodule Valve for Next- generation High-Density HVDC Converter Station”, Co-PI, 3/2026-2/2029.
  • ONR, “Roll-to-Roll 2D Nanoassembly Coating for High-Temperature Film Capacitors” (N00014-26-1-2314), PI, 6/1/2026-11/30/2028.
  • ONR, “Scale up of a polyetherimide and a hydrogenated polynorbornylene for high energy density capacitors”, Co-PI, 6/1/2026-11/30/2028.
  • G&W Electric, “Development of New materials for Capacitive voltage dividers”, PI, 3/1/2026-2/28/2027
  • ONR/NIUVT, “Solid-state-transformer”, Co-PI, 1/1/2026-12/30/28
  • G&W Electric, “Ablative Materials Development”, PI, 1/1/2024-9/30/2025
  • ONR, “Barrier Coatings for Commercial High-Temperature Polymer Films” (N00014-23-1-2346), PI, 4/1/2023-9/3/2026
  • ONR, “PolyAlicyclics by Rational design as Dielectrics for Extreme Electrification” (N00014-23-1-2292), Co-PI, 4/1/2023-3/30/2026
  • ONR, “Scaleup of High Temperature Polyimide and Polyolefin Dielectrics, Film Processing and Testing” (N00014-23-1-2348), Co-PI, 4/1/2023-3/30/2026
  • ONR, “New Suite of Insulations for High Power Density Electrical Generators” (N00014-23-C-1021), Co-PI, 12/1/2022-2/28-2025
  • ONR, “Variable-Speed-Drive Insulation” (N00014-23-1-2062), PI, 12/1/2022-11/30-2025
  • ARPA-e, “Substation in a Cable for Adaptable, Low-cost Electrical Distribution (SCALED)” (DE-AR0001568), Co-PI,  3/14/2022-3/13/2025.
  • ARPA-e, “Detection and Fixation: A Lifecycle-Management Framework Towards an SF6-Free Green Power Network” (DE-AR0001523), PI, 3/21/2022-8/20/2025.
  • G&W Electric, “Switchgear Materials Study”, PI, 6/1/2021-8/30/2023
  • Collins Aerospace, “High Voltage Insulation”, PI, 5/1/2021-11/30/2022
  • NASA/NPS, “Advanced Insulation System Design for Fast Light-weight Altitude-ready Solid-state Circuit Breaker for Hybrid Electric Propulsion (FLASH)” (N00244-20-1-008), PI, 8/1/2020-9/24/2023
  • ONR “High Torque Density Motor Insulation” (N00014-19-1-2306), PI, 5/15/19 to 5/14/2023
  • ONR “Accelerated Co-Designs of High K Polymer Dielectrics” (N00014-19-1-2304), PI, 5/01/19 to 4/30/2023
  • G&W “DC Research Project”, PI, 3/25/19 to 3/24/2020
  • G&W “SF6 Alternative Material Compatibility”, PI, 2/8/19 to 2/7/2020
  • NASA HVDC Aerospace Electric System, UTRC/NASA, PI, 4/1/2018-12/30/2018
  • Komatsu, Motor insulation, Komatsu, PI, 4/1/2018-3/30/2020
  • Nextflex, Printing passive circuit, Nextflex/Boeing, Co-PI, 4/1/2018-3/30/2019
  • ONR MURI, Tracking, Diagnosing and Impeding Dielectric Breakdown in Polymers (N00014-17-1-2656), Co-PI, 8/1/2017-7/31/2023. https://muri.ims.uconn.edu
  • NSF Phase I i/UCRC University of Connecticut Site: Center for Novel High Voltage/Temperature Materials and Structures (NSF HVT) (1650544), Site Director, 2/1/2017 – 9/30/2023   http://www.hvtcenter.org
    • Industrial Advisory Board (GE, Eversource, Marmon Utility, G&W, USi)

S27 ECE 3201-Electronic Circiut Design and Analysis

F26 ECE-5201-Electromagnetic Wave Propagation

S26 ENGR-1166: Foundations of Engineering

F25 ECE-3223 Optical Engineering

S25 ENGR-1166: Foundations of Engineering

F24 ECE-5201-Electromagnetic Wave Propagation

S24 ENGR-1166: Foundations of Engineering

F23 ECE-3431/CSE-3802 Numerical Methods in Scientific Computation

S21 ECE-3001 Electromagnetic Fields and Waves

2026:

[7] Ning Guoa†, Marina Dabaghian†, Jierui Zhou, Josh N. Bodin, Chong Xiang, Fei Wang, Antigoni Konstantinou, Dingxin Wei, Yifei Wang, Chao Wu, Riccardo Casalini, Bryan Huey, Priya Vashishta, Luyi Sun*, and Yang Cao*, “Interface rectification via roll-to-roll dual-confinement nanocoatings for high-temperature polymer capacitors”, Advanced Science, accepted, Sep. 30th, 2026.

[6] Yikai Wang, Ying Zhou, Lei Zhai*, Pingxia Zhang, Jiachuan Yu, Lin Fan,*, Gang Han, Lixin Liu, Wei You, Yi Liu, Song Mo, Minhui He, Qian Wang, Yang Yang, Xidong Liang, Bangdou Huang*, Cheng Zhang, Tao Shao, Yang Cao, Gregory Sotzing, L.A. Dissado, Chao Wu,* “Targeted Modular Design of Rollable Polymer Dielectrics for High Efficiency Energy Storage under Harsh Condition”, Advanced Functional Materials, accepted, Sep. 29th, 2026.

[5] Samuel Gravel, Michael Mao, Dingxin Wei, Jierui Zhou, Antigoni Konstantinou, Mukerrem Cakmak, Ning Guo*, Yang Cao*, “Strain-regulated deep trap engineering in polyethylene terephthalate electrets“, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, accepted, Sep. 30th, 2026.

[4] Ning Guo, Marina Dabaghian, Dingxin Wei, Wesley Zhong, Antigoni Konstantinou, Josh N. Bodin, Zhihua Xu, Jierui Zhou, Luyi Sun *, and Yang Cao*,  “Programmable Nanolaminate Architectures Enable Superior Corona Resistance through Synergistic Erosion Blocking and Charge Dissipation“, Nanoscale, accepted, Sep. 20th, 2026.

[3] Ning Guo†, Jierui Zhou†, Antigoni Konstantinou, Yifei Wang, Dingxin Wei, Wenqiang Gao, Xudong Wu, Bryan Huey, Priya Vashishta, and Yang Cao*, “Nanometric layered coating assembly bridging across micro-electronics and mega-voltage power grids”, Matter, 103002, published online, September 1, 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2026.103002

[2] Patrick K Njenga, Ning Guo, Haotian Long, Dennis M Ndaya, Akram H Alhadainy, Chinedum O Osuji, Yang Cao, Rajeswari M Kasi, “Nanocomposites with tunable dielectric properties: BaTiO3 loaded cellulose nanocrystal-liquid crystalline polymers”, J. Mater. Chem. A (2026) 14 (34): 22450–22463. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d6ta00808a

[1] Mark Cairnie, Christina DiMarino, Khai Ngo, Qiang Li, Guo-Quan Lu, Dushan Boroyevich, Douglas DeVoto, Bidzina Kekelia, Yang Cao, “Cable-integrated coaxial power converter”, US Patent App. 19/309,177, April 30, 2026.

2025:

[7] Jing Hao†, Ashish R. Khomane†, Tejas S. Bhosale, Ning Guo, Pritish Aklujkar, John Toribio, Steven L. Suib, Gregory Sotzing*, Yang Cao*, “Synergistic Linkage and Endcap Integration in Polyetherimides for High-Performance Capacitive Energy Storage”, Advanced Functional Materials, e25042, published online, Dec. 4th, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202525042

[6] Davis-Amendola, L.A. Ortiz-Flores, A. Konstantinou, K.M. Abu Hurayra Lizu, R. Walker II, Y. Cao*, G.A. Rossetti, Jr., B. D. Huey*, “Direct Nanoscale Conductivity Measurements of Surface Tracking on Epoxy Nanocomposites”, Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 127, 052901, 2025.  https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0275334

[5] Ying Zhou, Anna M LaChance, Qian Wang, Yanfeng Gao, Jierui Zhou, Bangdou Huang, Kuangyu Shen, Zaili Hou, Ting Lei, Ningzhen Wang, Zhou Zuo, Shan Liu, Leonard A Dissado, Tao Shao, Xidong Liang, Yang Cao, Luyi Sun, Chao Wu, “Self-assembly of anisotropic nano-sheets to impede charge injection into polymer dielectrics”, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol.13, pp. 12926-12931, 2025. DOI: 10.1039/D5TA01289A

[4] Jing Hao1, Stuti Shukla1, Rishi Gurnani, Madhubanti Mukherjee, Harikrishna Sahu, Ashish Khomane, Pritish Aklujkar, Mohak Desai, Chao Wu, Rampi Ramprasad, Gregory Sotzing*, Yang Cao*, “Stereoisomerism of Vicinal Polydichloronorbornene for Ultra-high-temperature Capacitive Energy Storage”, Advanced Materials, Vol.37, 2417625, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202417625 

[3] Yifei Wang,  Thomas Linker, K.M. Abu Hurayra Lizu, Luis A. Ortiz-Flores, Deepak Kamal, Jierui Zhou, Hiep Nguyen, Chuanyang Li, Wenqiang Gao, Antigoni Konstantinou, Lihua Chen, Bryan D. Huey, Rampi Ramprasad, Aiichiro Nakano, Fuyuki Shimojo, Priya Vashishta, Yang Cao, “Ultrahigh energy density in high-temperature polymer dielectric reinforced by bilayer nanocoating“, Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 57, 1 March 2025, 160613, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.160613

[2] Pritish S Aklujkara†, Rishi Gurnanib,f†, Pragati Routc, Ashish R Khomanea, Irene Mutegic, Mohak Desaia, Amy Pollocka, John Toribioc, Jing Haod, Yang Caod,e*, Rampi Ramprasadb,f*, Gregory Sotzinga,c*, “Rationally Designed High-Temperature Polymer Dielectrics for Capacitive Energy Storage: An Experimental and Computational Alliance”, Progress in Polymer Science, Volume.161, 101931, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2025.101931 

[1] Jiahao Mao, Jierui Zhou, Yang Cao and Mukerrem Cakmak,  “Impact of uniaxial strain programming on morphology and electrical properties of PET from amorphous precursors”, Polymer, Vol.320, 128078, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128078

2024:

[11] Jing Hao*, Irene Mutegi*, Madhubanti Mukherjee, Harikrishna Sahu, Ashish Khomane, Omer Yassin, Rampi Ramprasad, Gregory A. Sotzing, Yang Cao, “High-temperature high-k polyolefin by rational molecular design“, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Vol.121, e2415388121, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415388121

[10] Kerry Davis-Amendola*, Mohamadreza Arab Baferani*, Tohid Shahsavarian, Chuanyang Li, Wesley Zhong, JoAnne Ronzello, Roger Walker, and Yang Cao, “Electrical Treeing at High Altitude: Effect of Pressure and Temperature”, IEEE Access, Vol.12, pp.137825-137835, 2024. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3457754

[9] Tohid Shahsavarian, Moritz Ploner, Kerry Davis-Amendola, Brian Chislea, John McKeen, Di Zhang, Andrea Cavallini, Yang Cao, “Unveiling Design and Encapsulation Challenges in Direct Copper Bond (DCB)-Based Power Converters with Partial Discharge and Modeling Insights for Aerospace Applications”, IEEE Access, Vol.12, pp.125735-125750, 2024. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3442016

[8] Jierui Zhou, Jiahao Mao, Wenqiang Gao, Zongze Li, Jindong Huo, Miko Cakmak, Yang Cao, “High field conduction in biaxially oriented polypropylene at elevated temperature“, High Voltage, Vol.10, pp.595-602, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1049/hve2.70037

[7] Rishi Gurnani, Stuti Shukla, Deepak Kamal, Chao Wu, Jing Hao, Christopher Kuenneth, Pritish Aklujkar, Ashish Khomane, Robert Daniels, Ajinkya Deshmukh, Yang Cao, Gregory Sotzing, Rampi Ramprasad, “AI-Assisted Discovery of High-Temperature Dielectrics for Energy Storage”, Nature Communications, Vol.15, 6107, 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50413-x

[6] Wenqiang Gao, Luisa F. Posada, Vahid Shiravand, Shubhashish Shubhashish, Capri Price, Radislav A. Potyrailo, Karim Younsi, Shiyao Shan, Ibrahima Ndiaye, Jierui Zhou, Andres Laso, Nenad Uzelac, Wesley Zhong, Steven L. Suib, Yang Cao, “High-throughput compatibility screening of materials for SF6-alternative insulation”, Environmental Science & Technology, Vol.58, pp. 13296-13306, 2024. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.4c03190

Inside cover highlight

[5] Stuti Shukla‡, Chao Wu‡, Ankit Mishra, Junkun Pan, Aaron P. Charnay, Ashish Khomane, Ajinkya Deshmukh, Jierui Zhou, Madhubanti Mukherjee, Rishi Gurnani, Pragati Rout, Riccardo Casalini, Rampi Ramprasad, Michael D. Fayer, Priya Vashishta, Yang Cao*, Gregory Sotzing*, “Pendant group functionalization of cyclic olefin for high temperature and high-density energy storage”, Advanced Materials, Vol.36, 2402133, 2024. DOI: 10.1002/adma.202402133

[4] Jierui Zhou, Mohamadreza Arab Baferani, Tohid Shahsavarian, Patrick McGinnis, Steven Walker, Dehao Qin, Zheyu Zhang, Dong Dong, Di Zhang, Chuanyang Li, Yang Cao, “DC Flashover in Printed Circuit Boards at Low Gas Pressures: Mechanism and Mitigation Recommendations”, IEEE Access, Vol.12, pp.77347-77355, 2024. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3406429

[3] Ningzhen Wang, He Zhang, Xunlin Qiu, Reimund Gerhard, Jan van Turnhout, Jason Cressotti, Dong Zhao, Liang Tang, Yang Cao, “Recent Advances in Ferroelectret Fabrication, Performance Optimization and Applications”, Advanced Materials, Vol.36, 202400657, 2025. DOI: 10.1002/adma.202400657

[2] Wenqiang Gao, Luisa Posada, Shubhashish Shubhashish, Vahid Shiravand, Capri Price, Radislav Potyrailo, Karim Younsi, Shiyao Shan, Ibrahima Ndiaye, Jierui Zhou, Charlotte Cabrera, Wesley Zhong, Steven L. Suib, Yang Cao, “Mitigations of Aging Product Generation in C4F7N-Based SF6 Alternatives – A Holistic Approach”, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol.12, pp.6467-6472, 2024. DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c01641

Insider cover highlight.

[1] Wenqiang Gao, Luisa Posada, Vahid Shiravand, Shubhashish Shubhashish, Capri Price, Boya Zhang, Radislav Potyrailo, Karim Younsi, Shiyao Shan, Ibrahima Ndiaye, Charlotte Cabrera, Jierui Zhou, Maxime Perret, Thomas Berteloot, Yannick Kieffel, Andres Laso, Nenad Uzelac, Steven L. Suib, Yang Cao, “Decomposition characteristics of C4F7N-based SF6-alternative gas mixtures”, Journal of Applied Physics, Vol.135, 063302, 2024. DOI: 10.1063/5.0188478

2023:

[15] Zongze Li+, Chao Wu+, Lihua Chen, Yifei Wang, Zeynep Mutulu, Hiroaki Uehara, Jierui Zhou, Miko Cakmak, Rampi Ramprasad & Yang Cao*, “Probing electronic band structures of polymer dielectrics via prebreakdown conduction”, Advanced Materials, Vol.36, 2310497, 2024. DOI: 10.1002/adma.202310497

[14] Ningzhen Wang, Mohamadreza Arab Baferani, Robert Daniels, Chao Wu, Jindong Huo, Jan van Turnhout, Gregory A. Sotzing, Reimund Gerhard, Yang Cao, “Macro-dipoles in soft/hard expanded-polytetrafluoroethylene + fluoroethylenepropylene (ePTFE+FEP) fluoropolymer-film systems for high-output piezoelectric ferroelectret-transducer applications”, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol.57, 145502, 2024. DOI: 10.1088/1361-6463/ad1a84

[13] Arshiah Y. Mirza, Hiep H. Nguyen, Yang Cao, Ali M. Bazzi, “Prediction of Breakdown Time of Insulation Material for use in Medium-voltage Inverter-fed Marine Propulsion Motor Applications”, IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, accepted, Dec. 10th, 2023.

[12] Jierui Zhou, Marina Dabaghian, Yifei Wang, Michael Sotzing, Anna Marie LaChance, Kuangyu Shen, Wenqiang Gao, Antigoni Konstantinou, Chao Wu, Jing Hao, Luyi Sun, Yang Cao, “High-Temperature Dielectric Energy Storage Films with Self-co-assembled Hot-electron Blocking Nanocoatings”, Nano Energy, Vol. 120, 109184, 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2023.109184

[11] Ajinkya Deshmukh, Chao Wu*, Omer Yassin, Lihua Chen, Stuti Shukla, Jierui Zhou, Ashish Khomane, Rishi Gurnani, Ting Lei, Xidong Liang, Rampi Ramprasad, Yang Cao*, Gregory Sotzing*, “The Effect of Fluorine in Redesigning Energy Storage Properties of High-Temperature Dielectric Polymers”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 15, pp.46840-46848, 2023. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c08858

[10] Dehao Qin, Zheyu Zhang, Di Zhang, Yuntao Xu, Cheng Wan, Lakshmi Ravi, Tohid Shahsavarian, Dong Dong, Yang Cao, “Oscillation Issue and Solution for Solid-state Circuit Breaker Using High Power IGBT Module”, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, accepted, Aug.22, 2023. DOI: 10.1109/TIA.2023.3314015

[9] Ankit Mishra, Lihua Chen, ZongZe Li, Ken-ichi Nomura, Aravind Krishnamoorthy, Shogo Fukushima, Subodh C Tiwari, Rajiv K Kalia, Aiichiro Nakano, Rampi Ramprasad, Greg Sotzing, Yang Cao, Priya Vashishta, “Computational framework for polymer synthesis to study dielectric properties using polarizable reactive molecular dynamics”, Computational Materials Science, Vol.228, 112340, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.commatsci.2023.112340

[8] Sebastian M. Fica-Contreras, Zongze Li, Abdullah Alamri, Aaron P. Charnay, Junkun Pan, Chao Wu, Jeffrey R. Lockwood, Omer Yassin, Stuti Shukla, Gregory Sotzing*, Yang Cao*, Michael D. Fayer*, “Synthetically tunable polymers, free volume element size distributions, and dielectric breakdown field strengths”, Materials Today, Vol.67, July-August, pp.57-67, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2023.05.010

[7] Chao Wu, Ajinkya A Deshmukh, Lihua Chen, Rampi Ramprasad, Gregory A Sotzing, Yang Cao, “Impact of Oxygen Containing Carbonyl and Ether Groups on Dielectric Properties of Poly (oxa) norbornene Cyclic Olefins”, Journal of Advanced Dielectrics, Vol.13, 2341005, 2023, DOI: 10.1142/S2010135X23410059

[6] Jindong Huo, Yifei Wang, Ningzhen Wang, Wenqiang Gao, Jierui Zhou, Yang Cao, “Data-driven design and optimization of ultra-tunable acoustic metamaterials“, Smart Materials and Structures, Vol.32, 05LT01, March 10th, 2023. DOI: 10.1088/1361-665X/acc36c

[5] Yifei Wang, Jierui Zhou, Antigoni Konstantinou, Mohamadreza Arab Baferani, Kerry Davis, Wenqiang Gao, Yang Cao, “Sandwiched polymer nanocomposites reinforced by two-dimensional interface nanocoating for ultrahigh energy storage performance at elevated temperatures“, Small, Vol.19, 2208105, 2023. DOI: 10.1002/smll.202208105

[4] Weikang Xian, Chung-Hao Liu, Behrad Kangarlou, Shing-Yun Chang, Chao Wu, Yang Cao, Luyi Sun, Anson W. K. Ma, Mu-Ping Nieh, Amitesh Maiti, Andrew P. Saab, and Ying Li, “Effect of Diphenyl Content on Viscoelasticity of Poly(dimethyl-co-diphenyl)siloxane Melt and Network”, ACS Appl. Polym. Mater., Vol.5, pp.1915-1925, 2023. DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.2c01979

[3] Mayank Jain, Zeynep Mutlu, Jiahao Mao, Jierui Zhou, Chao Wu, Yang Cao, Mukerrem Cakmak, “Effect of constrained annealing on the structural and dielectric properties of melt cast PVDF/PMMA films”, Journal of Polymer Science, Vol.61, pp.1132-1149, 2023. DOI: 10.1002/pol.20220758

[2] Yang Cao, US Patent # 11,855,501, “Nanostructured insulation for electric machines”, Dec. 26th, 2023.

[1] Yang Cao, US Patent # 11,569,701, “Nanostructured insulation for electric machines“, Jan. 31, 2023.