2025 Simon Prize Winner: Dr. Tianwei Jin

Dr. Tianwei Jin is the winner of the 2025 Simon Prize for the most outstanding dissertation in the APAM Department.

Tianwei Jin received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in October 2024, advised by Professor Yuan Yang. His thesis, “Materials Design for Lithium Batteries with High Energy Density,” focuses on developing innovative material design principles for next-generation energy storage technologies. His key contributions include: (1) designing a scalable interfacial architecture that integrates all layer components of a commercial battery, enhancing its mechanical strength by a factor of 11 with minimal impact on electrochemical performance and enabling batteries to serve as structural components in electric vehicles to extend mileage; (2) proposing a phase-separation phenomenon in polymer electrolytes under applied current as a novel strategy to suppress lithium dendrite growth in lithium-metal batteries, thereby enhancing both safety and performance; and (3) identifying two critical limitations in a widely used cathode design for solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries and introducing a counterintuitive design principle that achieves long cycle life with minimal capacity fade. His work has been published in Advanced Energy Materials (2021), Joule (2022), Materials Today (2023), and Nano Letters (2024). After graduating from Columbia University, Tianwei continued his work in the battery industry on the development of next-generation batteries.

History of the Robert Simon Memorial Prize: The Simon Prize is awarded annually by the APAM Department to the graduate student who has completed the most outstanding dissertation.  Robert Simon (1919–2001) received a BA degree cum laude in classics from the City College of New York in 1941, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and an MA in mathematics from Columbia University in 1949. Between 1941-1944, Mr. Simon was a lieutenant in the U.S. Armed Forces serving in England, France, and Italy. He participated in the D-Day operation as a navigator for a plane that dropped paratroopers in the vicinity of Omaha Beach. General Dwight Eisenhower personally shook his hand and wished him well the night before the D-Day assault. Mr. Simon, who was born and lived in New York City, spent a lifetime making valuable contributions to the field of computer science. Starting in 1953, he worked for 15 years at Sperry’s Univac Division in various capacities including marketing, planning, systems engineering, systems programming, and information services. He also spent a year working at the Fairchild Engine Division as director of the Engineering Computer Group. He personally directed the establishment of several company computer centers at sites throughout the United States. Between 1969-1973, he was a partner with American Science Associates, a venture capital firm. Mr. Simon was a founder and vice president of Intech Capital Corporation and served on its board from 1972-1981 and a founder and member of the board of Leasing Technologies International, Inc. from 1983 until his retirement in 1995. The prize was established in 2001 by Dr. Jane Faggen with additional support from friends and relatives of Mr. Simon.