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I hold a PhD in Materials Physics & Chemistry with training from both Shanghai Institute of Ceramics (SICCAS), a premier institution in ionics and energy, and the Argonne National Laboratory.
I am a Research Scientist at Stanford University, working with Dean Arun Majumdar.
My research centers on probing and directing energy transformation and ionic motion across interfaces in nature and technology.
Under the unifying theme of ion-coupled redox pathways, I investigate how disorder, in the form of molecular, chemical, and structural heterogeneities and defects, evolves along these pathways, and how these dynamic phenomena impact charge transfer, ion transport, and stability in energy transformation technologies.
The Goal: Uncovering and directing ion-coupled redox pathways and interfacial phenomena that govern the efficiency and longevity of next-generation electrochemical devices and catalytic systems.
My Approach: Combining interfacial ionics/electrochemistry, operando multimodal X-ray characterization, and mechanism-guided discovery & engineering.
NEWS
07/10/2026 I received the Young Scientist Award from the International Society for Solid State Ionics (ISSI);
03/10/2026 Our new paper on the cooperativity between free radicals in catalytic systems is online at Joule;
02/10/2026 Our new paper on light-driven methane removal is online at Environmental Science & Technology;
01/22/2026 Invited talk at Vanderbilt University;
11/19/2025 Department Talk at Thermofluids, Energy, and Propulsion Research Seminar at Stanford University;
09/30/2025 I received the Spicer Young Investigator Award from DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory;
Highlighted Contributions
2026 International Society for Solid State Ionics (ISSI) Young Scientist Award for contributions in solid state and interfacial ionics across electrochemical and catalytic systems and materials research.
2025 William E. and Diane M. Spicer Young Investigator Award
"in recognition of his outstanding work across multi-disciplinary research, spanning electrochemistry, heterogeneous catalysis, materials physics, and X-ray characterization"
Three key intellectual contributions in interdisciplinary research include:
Interfacial ionics and electrolyte systems: Discovered a solvent-mediated proton-coupled electron transfer mechanism responsible for lithium-ion battery aging, overturning a decades-old model of self-discharge and providing a molecular-level design framework for next-generation electrolytes for electrification applications.
(Science, 2024; ACS Energy Letters, 2025 | First Author & Co-corresponding Author);
Mechanism-guided engineering overcomes intrinsic tradeoffs in energy catalysis: Uncovered cooperative free-radical pathways enabling process design that breaks the activity-selectivity tradeoff in partial oxidation & selective upgrading; harnessed dynamic transformation of active sites that overcomes the activity-stability tradeoff in thermal catalysis & methane removal.
(Joule, 2026 | First Author & Co-Corresponding Author; Nature Catalysis, 2023 | Co-First Author).
Multimodal X-ray characterization reveals otherwise inaccessible interfacial processes and dynamics: Mapped crystalline-to-amorphous transition in oxide electrocatalysts; and the intermittent behavior of point defects in microelectronic applications.
(Science Advances, 2021 |First Author; Advanced Materials, 2023 | Co-First Author);
Selective Awards & Honors
International Society of Solid State Ionics Young Scientist Award (International/2026)
William E. and Diane M. Spicer Young Investigator Award (National/2025)
Best Doctoral Dissertation Award, The Ceramic Society (National/2019)
Presidential Award of CAS for Excellence in Graduate Research (National/2018)
Yandongsheng Fellowship, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics (2017)
Graduate Program, Argonne National Laboratory (2016)
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