Yip-Wah Chung (born 1950^[1]) is a materials scientist at Northwestern University. He is a professor of materials science & engineering, and, by courtesy, of mechanical engineering within the McCormick School of Engineering,^[2] and serves as co-director of the mechanical engineering–materials science & engineering Master of Science program.^[3]

Chung was raised in Hong Kong,^[4] and holds a B.S. and an M.S. in physics from the University of Hong Kong, as well as a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley.^[2] He joined Northwestern, after obtaining his doctorate; at Northwestern, he previously served as department chair of materials science & engineering (1992–1998).^[5]

His research includes work on energy efficiency, surface engineering, and tribology. In 2016, Chung, Jiaxing Huang, and other co-authors published an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describing how a lubricant containing crumpled graphene could provide higher lubrication performance than other lubricant oils.^[6] In 2017, Chung was featured in the Northwestern Engineering magazine for his research on improving energy efficiency. The article describes a development by Chung and others on reducing friction within automobiles. Their development, a lubricant additive, "can reduce friction by up to 70 percent and wear by up to 90 percent compared to conventional lubricant counterparts."^[7] In 2019, Chung was interviewed by Tribology & Lubrication Technology. In his interview, he expressed sentiment that communication skills are a vital part of career tribology, and are not emphasized enough in education.^[5]

In 2002, Chung, Leon M. Keer, and Kornel Ehmann won the Innovative Research Award, conferred by the tribology division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.^[8] For his contributions to surface engineering and coatings, Chung received the 2024 R.F. Bunshah Award from the Advanced Surface Engineering Division, American Vacuum Society.^[9][10] As of 2024, he is a fellow of ASM International, American Vacuum Society, and the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.^[2]

• Chung, Yip-Wah; Homola, A. M.; Street, G. Bryan, eds. (1992). Surface Science Investigations in Tribology. ACS Symposium Series. Vol. 485. American Chemical Society. doi:10.1021/bk-1992-0485. ISBN 978-0-8412-2205-2.
• Miyoshi, K.; Chung, Y. W., eds. (1993). Surface Diagnostics in Tribology. Series on Modern Tribology. Vol. 1. World Scientific. doi:10.1142/2130. ISBN 978-981-02-1516-3.
• Chung, Yip-Wah (2002). Practical Guide to Surface Science and Spectroscopy (1st ed.). Academic Press. doi:10.1016/C2009-0-22546-3. ISBN 978-0-12-174610-0.
• Chung, Yip-Wah, ed. (2012). Micro- and Nanoscale Phenomena in Tribology (1st ed.). CRC Press. doi:10.1201/b11211. ISBN 978-0-429-10626-2.
• Wang, Q. Jane; Chung, Yip-Wah, eds. (2013). Encyclopedia of Tribology (1st ed.). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-92897-5. ISBN 978-0-387-92897-5.
• Chung, Yip-Wah; Kapoor, Monica (2022). Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering (2nd ed.). CRC Press. doi:10.1201/9781003274469. ISBN 978-1-00-327446-9.

• Faculty profile – McCormick School of Engineering
• Research profile – Northwestern Scholars

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