Presidential Scholars Program

I grew up in a small village in China, where I had relatively little exposure to science or to what a career in science and engineering might look like. My interest in science really started in high school, when I took physics and chemistry and became fascinated by understanding how things work. That curiosity led me to study Materials Science and Engineering at Tianjin University. As an undergraduate, I began to appreciate how ideas from physics and chemistry could come together through materials science to solve practical problems. That experience eventually brought me to the United States, where I completed my graduate training at the Colorado School of Mines while conducting research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (now National Laboratory of the Rockies).

Since then, my career has taken me through national laboratories, industry, and universities. I conducted research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, worked in industry at QuantumScape, and spent nearly a decade as a faculty member at Virginia Tech before joining School of Engineering at Brown University. My group works on materials for energy and sustainability, particularly batteries and energy storage. What continues to excite me about research is quite similar to what interested me as a student, which is understanding why materials behave the way they do and then using that understanding to make something work better. Our research ranges from fundamental questions about atoms, interfaces, and reactions to very practical questions about how battery materials can be manufactured more efficiently, affordably, and sustainably. I am also a co-founder of Fermi Energy, which has allowed me to experience another side of translating scientific ideas into technologies that might eventually have real-world impact.

My own path has also shaped how I think about education and mentoring. Growing up, I did not know what being a scientist or professor meant, and much of my career path became visible to me only through education and the people I met along the way, especially my mentors. I have therefore always enjoyed working with students at different stages, from high school and undergraduate students to Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers. One of the most rewarding parts of my job is watching students gradually discover what interests them, become more independent and confident, and find paths that I sometimes could not have imagined for them.

Outside of work, I enjoy listening to history podcasts, spending time with my family, and taking family road trips. I also enjoy kayaking when I get the chance and playing Sunday morning dads’ basketball games.