EDUCATION
- PhD, Chemistry (Physical), 2005, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- MS, Chemistry (Physical), 2000, Peking University, Beijing, China
- BS, Chemistry, 1997, Peking University, Beijing, China
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- 08/2022 – present Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University
- 07/2022 – 06/2024 Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, University of California Riverside (UCR)
- 07/2020 – 06/2022 Professor of Chemistry, UCR
- 11/2018 – 06/2022 Cooperating Faculty Member, Dept of Chem. & Env. Engineering, UCR
- 07/2017 – 06/2020 Associate Professor of Chemistry with Tenure, UCR
- 10/2015 – 06/2022 Cooperating Faculty Member, Materials Science & Engineering Program, UCR
- 07/2014 – 06/2017 Assistant Professor of Chemistry, UCR
- 11/2006 – 06/2014 Member of R&D Staff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
- 07/2005 – 11/2006 Postdoctoral Research Associate, ORNL
- 09/2004 – 06/2005 Visiting Student Research Collaborator, Princeton University
- 06/2001 – 06/2005 Graduate Student Researcher, UCLA
- 09/1998 – 06/2000 Graduate Research Assistant, Peking University, China
- 09/1996 – 07/1997 Undergraduate researcher, Peking University, China
DETAILED RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- 07/2022 – present Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University
- 07/2020 – 06/2022 Professor of Chemistry with Tenure, UCR
- 07/2017 – 06/2020 Associate Professor of Chemistry with Tenure, UCR
- 07/2014 – 06/2017 Assistant Professor of Chemistry, UCR
- 04/2011 – 06/2014 R&D Staff Scientist, ORNL
- 11/2006 – 04/2011 R&D Associate, ORNL
- 07/2005 – 11/2006 Postdoctoral Research Associate, ORNL
Mentors: Dr. Sheng Dai and Dr. Bobby G. Sumpter
- 09/2004 – 06/2005 Visiting Student Research Collaborator, Princeton University
- 09/2004 – 06/2005 Dissertation Year Fellow, UCLA
- 01/2002 – 08/2004 Graduate Student Researcher, UCLA
Advisor: Prof. Emily A. Carter (now at Princeton University)
Ph.D. dissertation title: “Chemistry of iron surfaces and interfaces from first principles”
- 09/2001 – 12/2001 Teaching Assistant, UCLA
- 06/2001 – 09/2001 Graduate Researcher in Prof. Sarah Tolbet's and Prof. Benjamin Schwartz's groups, UCLA
- 09/2000 – 06/2001 Teaching Assistant, UCLA
- 09/1998 – 06/2000 Graduate Research Assistant, Peking University, China
Advisors: Profs. Youchang Xie and Biying Zhao
M.S. thesis title: “Supported solid bases as regenerable adsorbents for flue gas desulfurization"
- 09/1996 – 07/1997 Undergraduate researcher, Peking University, China
Advisors: Profs. Youchang Xie and Biying Zhao
B.S. thesis title: “Supported solid bases as a co-catalyst for sweetening jet fuel”
AWARDS AND HONORS
- Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2021
- Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, 2012
- Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
- White House press release (11/05/2010)
- DOE Office of Science Early Career Scientist and Engineer Award, 2009
- ORNL Early Career Award for scientific achievements, 2009
- UCLA Dissertation Year Fellow, 2004-2005
- George Gregory Research Award, UCLA, 2004
- Graduate Academic Award, UCLA, 2001
PROFESSIONAL Socities
- Member: American Chemical Society;
- Member: Materials Research Society;
- Member: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Journal Referee for
- Nature, Nature Materials, Nature Energy, Nature Communications
- Journal of the American Chemical Society, Nano Letters, ACS Nano
- Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Journal of Physical Chemistry A/B/C, Langmuir
- Chemistry of Materials, Inorganic Chemistry, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- ACS Catalysis, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Energy & Fuels
- Angewandte Chemie, Chemistry – A European Journal, ChemPhysChem
- Advanced Materials, ChemSusChem, Small
- Progress in Materials Science
- Energy & Environmental Science, Chemical Science, ChemComm
- Nanoscale, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, RSC Advances
- Scientific Reports
- Surface Science, Applied Surface Science, Surface and Interface Analysis
- Journal of Catalysis, Journal of Molecular Catalysis, Catalysis Today
- Physical Review Letters, Physical Review B
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Journal of Applied Physics
- Journal of Physics – Condensed Matter
- Chemical Physics Letter, Molecular Physics, Chemical Physics
- Computational Materials Science, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
- Carbon, Journal of Polymer Science Part B, AIChE Journal, Chemical Engineering Journal
- Physica Status Solidi, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, Journal of Crystal Growth
- Fuel Processing Technology, International Journal of Energy Research
- Pure and Applied Chemistry, Nano-Micro Letters
NSF Review Panels served:
- DMR, 2012
- CHE, 2018
- CHE, 2021
- DMR, 2022
Ad hoc proposal review for:
- National Science Foundation
- ACS Petroleum Research Fund
- Department of Energy - Office of Science
- Foundation for Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Science, Portugal
- Hong Kong Research Grants Council
- Poland National Science Centre
JOURNAL Editor and BOARDS
- International Advisory Panel: Materials Research Express by Institute of Physics
- Associate Editor: Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, published by American Institute of Physics; appointment term, 8/01/2015 – 07/31/2017.
- Editorial Board: Carbon Trends, published by Elsevier
QUOTES IN THE NEWS MEDIA
- MIT News (11 May 2015): “Plugging up leaky graphene”
- Chemistry World (11 May 2012): "Gas separation with graphene nanopores"
PATENT ACTIVITIES
- US Patent Publication #US20130078170 A1 “Phosphonium-based ionic liquids and their use in the capture of polluting gases”; inventors: S. Dai, C. Wang, H. Luo, and D. Jiang. Patent #: US9670237 (issued: 6/6/2017), WO2013044026A1 (link)
- US Patent Publication #US20170043303 “Cross-linked polymeric membranes for carbon dioxide separation”; inventors: Hong, T.; Chatterjee, S.; Mahurin, S. M.; Long, B. K.; Jiang, D.E.; Mays, J.; Sokolov, A. P.; Saito, T. Patent #: US9873094 (issued: 1/23/2018). (link)
Other SERVICES
- Council Chair (2009-2010) of East Tennessee Chinese Association (ETCA)
- Dissertation Critique for University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 2010
- ORAU/ORNL High Performance Computing Grant Project Review Panel, 2011
- Reviewer for Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad (USA/DC), 2011
- ORNL Laboratory-Directed Research and Development Seed Grant review committee, 2011-2013.
- University of Queensland thesis examiner, 2012.
- Reviewer for Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad (USA/DC), 2012.
- Reviewer for Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad (USA/DC), 2014.
- Reviewer for Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad (USA/DC), 2015.
- Reviewer for the Cathy Bank and Morning Light Foundation scholarship, 2017.