Prof. Cafer T. Yavuz

Associate Professor
(Cafer is best pronounced as Juh-pher)
Graduate School of EEWS, College of Engineering
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering
Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong Gu,
Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea
Office: 82-42-350-1718
Fax: 82-42-350-2248
Email: yavuz@kaist.ac.kr

Twitter: @CaferYavuz

ORCID: 0000-0003-0580-3331

Researcher ID: B-8330-2011

Click here for the Google Scholar profile

Education:

Ph.D. Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX
M.A. Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX
B.S. Chemistry, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Employment & Service:

Jan 2020 - present
Editorial Advisory Board Member, ACS Applied Energy Materials, ACS, Washington, DC

Aug 2019 - present
Editorial Board Member, Cell Reports Physical Science, Cell Press, Boston, MA

May 2018 - present
Associate Editor, Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, Germany

Mar 2018 - present
Associate Professor, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, Korea

Jan 2018 - present
Associate Professor, Saudi Aramco - KAIST CO₂ Management Center, KAIST, Korea

Jan 2017 - present
International Editorial Advisory Board Member, Advanced Sustainable Systems, Wiley

Jan 2016 - present
Editorial Advisory Board Member, Chem, Cell Press, Boston, MA

Oct 2015 - Oct 2017
Associate Editor, RSC Advances, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, UK

Mar 2014 - present
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, KAIST, Korea

Feb 2014 - Feb 2016
Advisory Board Member, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Korea

Sep 2013 - present
Associate Professor, Graduate School of EEWS & KI for the NanoCentury, KAIST, Korea

Jun 2010 - Sep 2013
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of EEWS & KI for the NanoCentury, KAIST, Korea

Jun 2010 - present
Scientific Advisor, Graphene Technologies, San Rafael, CA

Dec 2007 - Jun 2010
Postdoctoral Scholar with Prof. Galen D. Stucky, Chemistry Dept., University of California, Santa Barbara, CA

Aug 2001 - Dec 2007 
Welch Scholar with Prof. Vicki L. Colvin, Chemistry Dept., Rice University, Houston, TX

Publications
Click here for the extended list of all publications
By date: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
By institution: KAIST, UCSB, Rice University
By topic: Porous Polymers, Nano, CO2, Water, Environment, Catalysis, Magnetism

Teaching
Spring: EEW 533 - Advanced Catalytic Chemistry
Fall: EEW 532 - Functional Nanoscale Oxides

See details on current and past teaching experience here

Awards & Honors:

• Top Five (no. 2 of 5) Nanotech Breakthroughs of 2006, Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report
• Best & Brightest 2007 Honoree, “Six ideas that will change the world”, Esquire Magazine
• Robert A. Welch Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship, Rice University
• Recognition Award from Rice University for Extraordinary Service to International Students
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) & National Institute of Health (NIH) travel grants
• Top Score, ACS Standardized Organic Chemistry Test, Rice University
• Natural Sciences Fellowship, Middle East Technical University (METU), Turkey
• Distinguished Scholarship, the Scientific & Technological Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)
• Office of Prime Minister’s Scholarship, Turkey
• Bronze Medal, 30th International Chemistry Olympiad, Melbourne, Australia
• Silver Medal, 29th International Chemistry Olympiad, Montreal, Canada
• Silver Medal, 6th National Chemistry Olympiad, Ankara, Turkey
• Silver Medal, 5th National Chemistry Olympiad, Ankara, Turkey
• Ranked 39th in National High School Matriculation Exam, Turkey (among ~500,000)  

See more awards & honors here

Media Coverage
Click here to see all media coverage
Photos of Prof. Cafer T. Yavuz

Professional Activities:
Reviewed for:

• Springer-Nature (Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Nature Energy, Scientific Reports, NPG Asia Materials, Journal of Materials Science, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Adsorption)
• ACS (Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), Environmental Science and Technology (ES&T), Nano Letters, Chemistry of Materials, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Inorganic Chemistry, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Crystal Growth and Design, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research (I&EC), Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, Langmuir)
• RSC (Energy & Environmental Science, Journal of Materials Chemistry, Chemical Communications, Polymer Chemistry, Nanoscale, CrystEngComm, Dalton Transactions, RSC Advances, New Journal of Chemistry, Environmental Science: Nano)
• Wiley (Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, Chemistry: An Asian Journal, ChemSusChem, Macromolecular Rapid Communications, AIChE Journal)
• Elsevier (Chemical Engineering Journal, Reactive and Functional Polymers, Materials Chemistry & Physics, Chemical Engineering Science, Chemosphere, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, Separation Purification Technology)
• Others (Nanotechnology, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Nanomaterials, Journal of Nanomaterials, Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, Science of Advanced Materials, High Performance Polymers, Advances in Environmental Research)

Member of:

• American Chemical Society (ACS) since 2003
• Materials Research Society (MRS) since 2005
• Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) since 2007
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 2007
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) since 2009
• Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) since 2009
• Korean Chemical Society (KCS) since 2011

Biography:

Dr. Cafer T. Yavuz received his B.S. degree from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. He completed the 4 year program in only 3 years being the first in the honor program's and second in the Chemistry department's 40 year old history. When he was in high school, he attended the 29th and 30th International Chemistry Olympiads representing Turkey twice and got a silver and a bronze medal in Canada and Australia, respectively. He was admitted to Rice University in 2001 with Welch scholarship and received his Master's and Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Vicki L. Colvin. His research focused on production of magnetic nanocrystals and their use in arsenic removal. His paper in Science magazine received Forbes magazine's "Top 5 nanotech breakthroughs of 2006" honor as well as 80+ different news coverage in media outlets such as New York Times, BBC, Houston Chronicle and The Guardian. His work was selected among the "Six Ideas That Will Change The World" by the Esquire Magazine (December 2007). He worked as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara with Dr. Galen Stucky on CO₂ sequestration, conversion and co-activation with methane (CH₄) until his appointment as an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water and Sustainability (EEWS), KAIST, South Korea on June 1st of 2010. He is the first Turkish faculty (tenure track) appointed in a Korean university. He was promoted to Associate Professor on September 2013 and jointly appointed at the Department of Chemistry. He is an Editorial Board Member at Chem, a new chemistry journal by Cell Press and International Advisory Board Member at Advanced Sustainable Systems, a new journal by Wiley. He also served for RSC Advances of the Royal Society of Chemistry as an Associate Editor. He is currently an Associate Editor for the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology.