I was selected into MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 - Global (2024 Cohort, 1 of 35 globally) by MIT Technology Review! Related media includes:
Feature articles: 2024 MIT TR35 Profile; Schmidt Science Fellows Feature Article
I was selected into the CAS Future Leaders Program (2024 Cohort, 1 of 35 globally) by CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society! Related media includes:
Feature articles: 2024 Official Release; C&EN Release; Yahoo Finance Release
I was selected into the Activate Fellows Program (2023 Cohort, 1 of 46 nationally) by Activate Global Inc.! Related media includes:
Feature articles: 2023 Official Release; Businesswire Release; Yahoo Finance Release
I was selected as one of the Schmidt Science Fellows (SSF) (2022 Cohort, 1 of 29 globally) by Schmidt Futures, in partnership with the Rhodes Trust! Related media includes:
I was selected as an Impact Fellow (2021 Cohort, 1 of 8 globally) by the MIT Climate & Sustainability Consortium (MCSC). Related media includes:
MIT MCSC: 2021 MCSC News; Impact Fellow Profile
I was selected as one of the 10 people from China to receive the German Chancellor Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Related media includes:
German Chancellor Fellowship: 2021 Introduction; Media Release by Cornell Engineering; Cornell MAE; Announcement (Blog in CN & EN); Xi'an Jiaotong University (Post in CN); Xi'an Jiaotong University (Post in EN)
I was inducted as one of the five Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society Scholars from Cornell into the Bouchet Society! Related media includes:
Feature articles: 2022 Cornell Chronicle; Cornell Graduate School (Profile article); Cornell Graduate School [Video Announcement]
My prior research at Cornell on a single point-of-care assay that identifies malaria, typhoid—or both simultaneously—in just 15 minutes, was featured as a Science Highlight by NIBIB. Related media includes:
Feature articles: 2022 NIBIB; Medical Xpress; mixpoint
I was invited to contribute to an SDG Blog at UN DESA. Previous contributors to the series include Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. Related media includes:
UN DESA: 2021 DESA Feature (Blog)
I was selected as the only student member of the Technical Working Group on Energy Transition for the High-Level Dialogue on Energy, a global gathering on energy under the auspices of the UN General Assembly. Related media includes:
UN: 2021 UN Announcement (UN); Announcement (UN News); Meeting highlights (Blog)
I published an opinion article on Matter and a blog on Lindau Nobel Meetings, on the common barriers for underrepresented minorities in academia. Related media includes:
Matter Article: 2021 Navigating My Way as a First-Generation Student; Cornell MAE; Cornell Eng
Lindau Blog: 2021 Flourishing as a Minority in Higher Education; One Young World Newsletter
I was featured in two interview pieces by the host of the China Current, the UN goodwill ambassador, James Chau. Related media includes:
Personal Story: 2020 My Journey from Poverty to College
Research on CO2 Conversion: 2020 Meet Elvis | One Young World
My Ph.D. thesis project on photoreactor design is highlighted in the World Economic Forum's white paper which showcases global energy innovations. Related media includes:
World Economic Forum: 2020 WEF White Paper (Page 16)
I have been selected as a Young Scientist (660 from 101 countries in the world) to attend the 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany. Related media includes:
Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting: 2020 Lindau Meeting; Blog on First-gen Experience (Blog); Lindau Interview Article on Research (Interview blog)
I have been selected as an Advancing Energy Scholar and a Future Energy Leader by BP plc to attend the One Young World Summit in London. Related media includes:
BP Advancing Energy Scholar (30 in the world): 2019 UNEP; Cornell MAE; OYW Release; About the Scholarship; OYW Profile (Personal profile)
BP Future Energy Leader (11 in the world): 2019 BP plc (Profile feature)
I landed on the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in Energy (US/Canada region) in 2019. The annual list features 600 young revolutionaries and risk-takers across 20 categories from over 15,000 submissions/nominations (Top 4%). In the same year, I was also featured on the other two 30 Under 30 lists, by the American Conservation Coalition (EarthX 30 Under 30) and All America Chinese Youth Federation (AACYF 30 Under 30). Related media includes:
Forbes 30 Under 30 - Energy: 2018 Forbes; McGill University (Profile article); XJTU News (Profile article-CN); XJTU News (Profile article-EN); Medium interview
Cornell Forbes' 30 Under 30: 2019 Cornell University (Profile article); Cornell's Atkinson Center; Cornell Alumni; Cornell Daily Sun
EarthX 30 Under 30: 2019 American Conservation Coalition; ACC Blog (Profile article)
AACYF’S 30 Under 30: 2019 People.com.cn; LAPOST; Cornell MAE
Forbes Under 30 Scholars: 2018 Cornell Grad School; Cornell MAE
I have been selected as an INK Fellow (21 in the world) by the Ixoraa Knowledge Foundation to speak about solar fuels in Jaisalmer, India. Related media includes:
INK Fellow: 2019 INK Profile; Cornell MAE
I have been honored to be selected twice as one of the five regional finalists for North America in the Young Champions of the Earth Prize Competition by UN Environment. Related media includes:
2020 UNEP Young Champions of the Earth Finalist: 2020 Regional Finalists; UN Environment Profile (Personal profile); UNEP Announcement; UN Announcement
2019 UNEP Young Champions of the Earth Finalist: 2019 Regional Finalists; UN Environment Profile (Personal profile); Finalist Announcement; Lawyers Club Bangladesh
I have honed my research presentation skills by participating in various competitions/research talks. Related activities include:
ETP 9th Annual Conference - Best Presenter Award: 2020 ETP
IoT, Data, and the New Last Mile: 2019 TTI/Vanguard
Atkinson Center's TCAM Pitch and Poster Competition - First Place Award: 2018 Cornell MAE
Cornell MAE SGRS - "Drafting the Future" Award: 2018 Cornell MAE
"Our Microbes, Our Global Health" - Third Place Award: 2018 Cornell MAE
AAAS “Science in a Minute” Video Contest - Third Place Award: 2018 Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM; Cornell MAE
ACLS Best Poster Award: 2017 Tokyo Tech; Cornell Engineering; Cornell MAE
Biotech Symposium Poster Award: 2017 BEST Blog; Cornell MAE
I believe in the power of science communication in educating the public. Related activities include:
SPARK Talks: 2017 Cornell Library
Sigma Xi's Student Research Conference: 2017 Sigma Xi
Journey Through Science Day at New York Academy of Sciences: 2017 Cornell Engineering; Cornell MAE
Sigma Xi's Research Showcase: 2017 American Scientist; Sigma Xi; Cornell MAE
Three-minute Thesis (3MT) Competition at Cornell: 2020, 2017 Cornell Grad School Workshop Feature; Cornell Grad School; Cornell MAE
Three-minute Thesis (3MT) Competition at McGill: 2015 McGill Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Entrepreneurship spirit is what I believe will bridge the gap between research and real-world problems. Related activities include:
Interview by Network Capital: 2021 Network Capital
Create the Future Design Contest Alumni Achieve Market Success: 2019 Tech Briefs
Chinese Entrepreneur Association at Cornell: 2018 CEAC Vice President
A Highlight In Carbon Reduction: 2018 E&P Magazine
Engineers Turn Research into Prototypes with Scale-Up Awards: 2017 Cornell Chronicle
$20K Grand Prize in Create the Future Design Contest: 2017 JWN; Business Insider; Cornell University MAE; XJTU News Link 1 (CN); XJTU News Link 2 (CN); Tech Briefs Link 1; Tech Briefs Link 2; Tech Briefs Link 3
MIT-CHIEF China Trip: 2017 Sina Finance; MIT-CHIEF
I have a keen interest in outreach activities and community engagement. Related activities that I'm working on, or have worked on, include:
Interview by Youth Forum Switzerland: 2021 Global Changemakers Project
Global Shapers Ithaca Hub by World Economic Forum: 2019 Biodigestor Project Leader
UN SDSN Youth's Local Pathways Fellow: 2018 UN SDSN Youth; Cornell MAE
Finalists of Young Champions of the Earth in China: 2018 Sina Finance; China News
Ithaca's March for Science: 2017 The ITHACAN; The Cornell Daily Sun; Video Link
I received the Research Excellence Award from MKS Instruments (2020) at Photonics West and SPIE OPTO Conferences in San Francisco, CA, USA. Related media includes:
SPIE: 2020 Cornell University MAE
I have been fortunate to work with several undergrads at Cornell Engineering. My undergraduate mentees went on to win several prestigious awards, including the Bill Nye'77 Award and the Cooke Graduate Scholarship. Related media includes:
Bill Nye '77 Award in Undergrad Research: 2019 Cornell MAE; Cornell MSE
$75,000 Cooke Graduate Scholarship: 2020 Cooke Scholarship