Han’s research centers on molecular solar thermal energy storage, developing fuels that can capture sunlight, store it in chemical bonds, and later release it as heat on demand. The approach offers a clean, emission-free alternative to fossil fuels for residential and industrial heating, the possibility of off-grid thermal power, and a pathway to new sustainable energy technologies.
Han joined UCSB’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 2025. She earned her Ph.D. in chemistry at MIT under the mentorship of Professor Timothy Swager, developing organic chromophores for photovoltaic applications, and continued her training as a postdoctoral researcher in materials science and engineering at MIT with Professor Jeffrey Grossman, investigating the design and optical properties of organic and nanomaterials. She began her independent career at Brandeis University in 2018, where she was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2024.
Her contributions have earned recognition including the Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize, the ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship, the Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the Sloan Research Fellowship, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program Award, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Marion Milligan Mason Award.