Education

• Ph.D., Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002.
• B.Sc., Nuclear Engineering, Hacettepe University Ankara, Turkey , 1999.

Positions Held

• Assistant Professor, MIT, 09/2007 - present.
• Nuclear Engineer, Argonne National Laboratory, 09/2004 – 08/2007
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Electrochemical Energy Laboratory,
  and the Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems, MIT, 01/2003 – 08/2004

Teaching

• 22.033 / 22.33, Nuclear Systems Design Project, Fall 2007
• 22.70, Nuclear Materials, Spring 2008
• 22.101, Applied Nuclear Physics, Fall 2008

Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding the fundamental relations between the surface structure, microchemistry, electronic structure and activity in electrochemically active material interfaces. The surface reactivity, transport, and durability on electrochemical interfaces can be dramatically influenced by the presence of nanoscale grains, and tailored grain boundaries, hetero-interfaces and crystallographic structures. In our group, we seek to elucidate the mechanisms governing the interface reactivity and tailor the interfaces to the advantage of particular technologies of interest:

1. Conducting oxide surfaces for enhanced activity and durability in high temperature electrocatalytic devices for hydrogen, synthetic gas (H₂+CO), and electricity production,

2. Engineered micro- and nano-structures in alloys for improved resistance against corrosion and stress corrosion cracking in nuclear and other energy systems subject to harsh environments.

Our approach to elucidating and exploiting the interfaces from micro-scale to an atomistic level involves a multidisciplinary framework with new spectroscopic techniques, analytical theory, and simulations.

One example is represented in Fig. 1 (below), which shows the unique in situ x-ray characterization set-up that Dr. Yildiz and her colleagues in Argonne National Laboratory have developed for high temperature electrocatalytic materials. The results obtained from these experiments have for the first time indicated that the cation (e.g. La in La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃) migration to/from the surface under electrical polarization is correlated by an improvement in the activity of the electrode material.

Figure 1. (a) The in situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy characterization set-up for high-temperature oxygen electrodes. Set-up established at the Advanced Photon Source – MR-CAT beamline [Ref.1]; (b) La LIII edge XANES intensity for surface of the dense thin film LSM electrode at 700°C, showing the segregation of La to the surface under anodic electrochemical polarization (EP) over time (t) [Ref.1].

Awards/Honors/Professional Societies

• ANS Faculty PAI Outstanding Teaching Award (05/2008)
• Pacesetter Award, Argonne National Laboratory (08/2006)
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, MIT (05/2002)
• Sigma Xi - The Scientific Research Society
• American Nuclear Society
• The Electrochemical Society
• Materials Research Society

Selected Publications

1. J.R. Mawdsley; J. D. Carter, B.Yildiz, J. Kropf, V. A. Maroni, “Post-Test Evaluation of Oxygen Electrodes from Solid Oxide Electrolysis Stacks”, accepted to the Int. J. of Hydrogen Energy, special issue.

2. B. Yildiz, K.-C. Chang, H. You, D. Miller, H. Bearat, M. McKelvy, “In situ Synchrotron X-ray Investigation of Alloy Corrosion in Supercritical Water”, 212^th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Washington DC, October 2007.

3. B. Yildiz, K.-C. Chang, D. Myers, J.D. Carter, and H. You, “In situ X-ray and Electrochemical Studies of the Solid Oxide Fuel and Electrolysis Cell Electrodes” Advances in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells III: Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings, 28(4), 153, 2007.

4. G.J. la O’, B. Yildiz, S. McEuen, and Y. Shao-Horn, “Probing Oxygen Reduction Reaction Kinetics of Sr-doped LaMnO3 Supported on Yttria Stabilized Zirconia: An Electrochemical Impedance Study of Dense, Thin-Film Microelectrodes,” J. Electrochem. Soc. 154, B427-B428 (2007).  

5. J. D. Carter, A. Call, M. Ferrandon, A. J. Kropf, V. A. Maroni, J. Mawdsley, D. J. Myers, B. Yildiz, “Post-Test Evaluation of a Solid Oxide Electrolysis Stack”, ANS Transactions, Proc. Safety and Technology of Nuclear Hydrogen Production, Control and Management at American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, USA, June 2007.

6. B. Yildiz, T. Sofu, “Modeling and Performance Study of Planar Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells”,  ANS Transactions, Proc. Safety and Technology of Nuclear Hydrogen Production, Control and Management at American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting, Boston, MA USA, June 2007.

7. Botterud A., Yildiz B., Conzelmann G., Petri M.C., “The Value of Product Flexibility in Nuclear Hydrogen Technologies”, ANS Transactions, Proc. Safety and Technology of Nuclear Hydrogen Production, Control and Management at American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, June 2007.

8. B. Yildiz, K.-C. Chang, D. Myers, J.D. Carter, and H. You, “In situ X-ray, Electrochemical, and Modeling Investigation of the Oxygen Electrode Activation,” Proc. 7th European Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Forum, Luzern Switzerland (2006).

9. Yildiz, B., Hohnholt, K. J., Kazimi, M. S., “Hydrogen Production Using High Temperature Steam Electrolysis Supported by Advanced Gas Reactors and Supercritical CO2 Cycles”, Nuclear Technology, Vol. 155 (1), 2006.

10. Petri, M.C., Yildiz, B., Klickman, A., “US Work on Technical and Economic Aspects of Electrolytic, Thermochemical, and Hybrid Processes for Hydrogen Production at Temperatures Below 550°C”, Int. J. Nuclear Hydrogen Production and Application, Vol. 1 (1), 2006.

11. Yildiz, B., Kazimi, M. S., “Efficiency of Hydrogen Production Systems Using Alternative Nuclear Energy Technologies”, Int. J. of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 31 (1), 2006.