Group News and Updates

June 2024- Sam Portillo and Seyedamin Razavi successfully pass their prelim exams!

• Congratulations to second year PhD students (now candidates) Sam Portillo and Seyedamin Razavi for their excellent prelim examinations. We look forward to the research that they will bring fourth.

May 2024- Hilal Bektas receives the “Best Student Presentation and Excellence in Research and Development award” at the 2024 FECM/NETL Spring R&D Project Review Meeting.

• Congratulations to third year Hilal Bektas for being rewarded for her oral and poster presentations on her work titled “An Advanced Modular Redox Air Separation System for Cost-Effective, Net-Zero Hydrogen Production.” You can read the post-meeting article here. Way to go Hilal!

April 2024- Li Group welcomes new postdoc Dr. Yuge Yao from Tsinghua University! Kyle Vogt-Lowell and Leo Brody have been inducted into Tau Beta Pi engineering honors society!

• Dr. Yuge Yao joins us from Tsinghua University and he will be working on the thermochemical conversion of biomass as well as aiding in the development of a pilot-scale fluidized bed reactor. Welcome Dr. Yao!
• Li group members Kyle Vogt-Lowell and Leo Brody have been inducted into Tau Beta Pi engineering honors society North Carolina alpha chapter due to their high academic standing in their graduate cohort. Congratulations!

March 2024- Kyle wins the student team pitch competition at the 2024 Catalyze Commercialization Conference! Group members Leo Brody, Sherafghan Iftikhar, Mahe Rukh, and Dr. Kunran Yang give talks at ACS Spring in New Orleans!

• Congratulations to PhD candidate Kyle Vogt-Lowell for winning along with his team $2,000 at an entrepreneurial competition surrounding his collaboration with VCU and their proposed company “MagnaShield”, which seeks to produce a material for electromagnetic shielding in 5G high frequency devices. Way to go Kyle!

December 2023- Mahe Rukh becomes the third Li group member to win a KIETS Climate Leaders Scholarship!

• Congratulations to PhD candidate Mahe Rukh for becoming a 2024 KIETS Climate scholar. Mahe will be completing her internship at Johnson Matthey Process Technologies Inc. in Savannah, GA where she will continue her work on sorption-enhanced gasification of biomass. Mahe is now the third Li group member in a row to be a KIETS scholar, after Leo Brody in 2023 and Kyle Vogt-Lowell in 2022. Congratulations Mahe and let’s keep the streak going!

November 2023- U.S. Congresswoman Ross Visits Li Group for NSF-PFI Project Kickoff Meeting! Aaron Frye and Dr. Luke Neal present their work at AIChE in Orlando.

• U.S. Representative Deborah Ross visited the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to learn more about a new $1M project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will use pilot reactors and new catalytic reagents in our lab to convert waste gas from a steel manufacturing site into sequestrable CO₂ and green hydrogen! Read more about Congresswoman Ross’s visit on the department website.
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• Two Li group members present at the 2023 AIChE conference in Orlando, FL. Dr. Luke Neal presented on super dry reforming and PhD candidate Aaron Frye presented on his pedagogical work with Dr. Lisa Bullard and Dr. Matthew Cooper surrounding the CBE bridging courses.

October 2023- Li group members win awards at the Schoenborn research symposium!

• Sherafghan Iftikhar wins second place for his oral presentation in the Materials, Catalysis, & Computation section, while Hilal Bektas received second place for her poster in the Materials section as well! Congratulations to you both for representing our group with excellence!

August 2023 – Leo Brody gives an oral presentation abroad at the 2023 EuropaCat conference in Prague. Kyle Vogt-Lowell shares his research during the poster session at 2023 ACS conference in San Francisco.

• Leo Brody presented his thesis work on perovskite-based phase transition sorbents for CO2 capture at the 15th European Congress on Catalysis (EuropaCat) in Prague, Czechia alongside his colleagues from TU Berlin. Kyle Vogt-Lowell shared his research on molten salt-mediated CO2 utilization during a poster session at the American Chemical Society conference in San Francisco. Li group members love to share what we do all over the world!

July 2023 – Junchen Liu successfully defends his PhD!

• Congratulations Dr. Junchen Liu, for successfully completing his dissertation titled “CO2 Utilization, Mitigation for Hydrocarbon and Alkylbenzene Conversion via Chemical Looping Approach”. Junchen has accepted a role as a postdoctoral researcher at Clariant Specialty Chemicals where he will continue to make unique contributions to catalysis research. We will miss you Junchen!

June 2023 – Congratulations to our new Ph.D. candidates: Hilal Bektas, Aaron Frye, and Mahe Rukh!

• Congratulations to our three second year PhD students for unconditionally passing their prelim exams and becoming PhD candidates! We are all very proud!

April 2023 – Aaron Frye is accepted into the Preparing the Professoriate Program!

• Congratulations to Aaron Frye for being selected by the Graduate School to participate in the Preparing the Professoriate program this fall! Aaron will be co-mentored by Dr. Matthew Cooper and Dr. Lisa Bullard and will be conducting research on the efficacy of our department’s bridging courses for non-traditional graduate students. Additionally, Aaron will write and deliver lectures in CHE-451 (Senior Design). Way to go Aaron!

March 2023 – Sherafghan Iftikhar wins Kokes travel award and the Vivian T. Stannett graduate award for outstanding early publication!

• Congratulations to Sherafghan Iftikhar for winning the Kokes travel award for the 28th Annual North American Catalysis Conference held in Providence, Rhode Island this June. This award is given to senior PhD students giving oral presentations at the conference, way to go Sherafghan!
• Sherafghan also won the department’s early publication award for his 2021 Energy and Fuels publication “LaNi­xFe1–xO3−δ as a Robust Redox Catalyst for CO2 Splitting and Methane Partial Oxidation”. Read this department news article for more information!

February 2023 – William Martin becomes a PhD student! Li group welcomes new postdoc Dr. Mohammadreza Kosari.

• Congratulations to William Martin for getting accepted into the PhD program! William has been conducting research in our group since he was an undergraduate all through his MS. We look forward to seeing what new developments he will make!
• We welcome Dr. Mohammadreza Kosari to the group as a postdoctoral researcher. Dr. Kosrai earned his PhD from the National University of Singapore in Chemical Engineering where he worked on the design and synthesis of nanocatalysts and nanoreactors for catalytic reactions.

January 2023 – Aaron Frye wins Linde Exceptional TA award!

• Congratulations to one of our PhD students, Aaron Frye, for wining the Linde Exceptional TA award for his working with CHE-205!

December 2022 – Li group welcomes three new group members! Leo Brody is selected for KIETS Climate Leaders fellowship! Sherafghan, William, and other members publish in Nanoscale!

• We warmly welcome three new PhD students: Sam Portillo, Ibrahim Sultan, and Seyedamin Razavi! We look forward to seeing their future work.
• Leo Brody is now the second Li group member (after Kyle) to be selected for the KIETS Climate Leaders fellowship, which funds a 4-6 month internship related to combatting climate change. Congratulations!
• Sherafghan Iftikhar, William Martin, and Junchen Liu publish “Ru-promoted perovskites as effective redox catalysts for CO2 splitting and methane partial oxidation in a cyclic redox scheme” in Nanoscale!

December 2022 – Runxia Cai wins first place award in the AIChE annual meeting CRE division poster session! Aaron and Junchen win awards at the Carolina Science Symposium.

• Congratulations to Runxia Cai for winning first place for his poster in the catalysis and reaction engineering (CRE) division out of 238 posters!
• Aaron Frye won “best XRD image” and Junchen Liu won “best paper acknowledging AIF contributions” at the CCS. Well done!

November 2022 – Mahe Rukh ties for second place at the Schoenborn Symposium poster session!

• Congratulations to Mahe Rukh for tying second place for her poster titled “Novel Phase Transition Sorbents for Isothermal Sorption Enhanced Hydrogen Production”. Great to see Li group members shine at the Schoenborn Symposium!
• Also, congratulations to Junchen Liu for his excellent oral presentation and to all other Li group poster presenters: Sherafghan Iftikhar, Aaron Frye, Hilal Bektas, and William Martin.

October 2022 – Leo Brody starts 5 month research internship at Technical University of Berlin! Kyle Vogt-Lowell presents at the KIETS Climate Leaders Program 2022 Fall Symposium.

• Leo Brody has joined Dr. Li at TU Berlin for the next five months to aid in research products on oxidative coupling of methane from biogas as well as photocatalytic water splitting.
• Kyle Vogt-Lowell presented some of his work from his Sustera Inc. internship concerning direct air carbon capture at the Climate Leaders Program 2022 Fall Symposium. Way to go Kyle!

September 2022 – Junchen Liu and many other group members co-author a paper in Applied Catalysis A!

• Congratulations to Junchen Liu and other group members past (Dan Jackson, Seif Yusuf) and present (William Martin, Dennis Chacko, Kyle Vogt-Lowell, Luke Neal, and Fanxing Li) for their paper published in Applied Catalysis A: General titled “Redox Oxide@ Molten Salt as a generalized catalyst design strategy for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane via selective hydrogen combustion”.

August 2022 – Yuan Tian defends her PhD! Sherafghan and William publish in Catalysis Today.

• Congratulations to Yuan Tian for defending her PhD thesis titled “Redox Properties of Mixed Metal Oxides for Chemical Looping Combustion and Beyond”.  Yuan defended her PhD virtually while wrapping up her internship at Idaho National Laboratory. She is currently interviewing for a number of industry positions and we look forward to seeing her next step!
• Sherafghan and William have published their article titled “LaNixFe1-xO3 as flexible oxygen or carbon carriers for tunable syngas production and CO2 utilization” in Catalysis Today!

June 2022 – Emily Kryzstowczyk defends her PhD! New postdoc Dr. Baitang Jin joins the group! Li group says goodbye to postdoc Dr. Jian Dou.

• Congratulations to Emily Kryzstowczyk for defending her PhD thesis titled “Oxygen Sorbent Design and Process Analysis for Thermochemical Air Separation”. She will now be joining BASF as part of their Leadership Development Program where she will be working in their Biodegradables and Microplastics division. Way to go Emily!
• The Li group welcomes a new postdoc Baitang Jin from Missouri University of Science and Technology.
• After four years as a great postdoc in the Li group, Dr. Jian Dou is now moving on to bigger and better things in California at a battery technology company. We will miss his smile and friendly demeanor in our group!

May 2022 – Runxia Cai wins Energies 2022 Travel award! Alajia Thornton successfully defends her MS thesis! Kyle Vogt-Lowell now a PhD candidate!

• Congratulations to Dr. Runxia Cai for winning the Energies 2022 travel award, which is awarded to outstanding postdoctoral researchers in the fields of energy technology.
• Our beloved masters student, Alajia Thornton, has successfully defended her MS thesis! She will be continuing her contract with the US Army, which subsidized her degree, starting in July. We will miss you Alajia!
• Kyle passed his preliminary exam unconditionally and is now officially a PhD candidate! We look forward to seeing what comes of his molten salt mediated ODH with in-situ CO2 capture project these next few years.

April  2022 – Leo Brody and Runxia Cai publish their paper in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering!

• Congratulations to Leo Brody, Dr. Runxia Cai, Alajia Thornton, and Junchen Liu for getting their paper “Perovskite-Based Phase Transition Sorbents for Sorption-Enhanced Oxidative Steam Reforming of Glycerol” published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering.

March 2022 – Junchen Liu wins Kokes travel award!

• Congratulations to Junchen Liu for winning the Kokes travel award for the 27th Annual North American Catalysis Conference held in New York City this May. This award is given to senior PhD students giving oral presentations at the conference, way to go Junchen!

February 2022 – Chongyan Ruan publishes first author paper in Nature Communications! Xijun Wang and Emily Kryzstowczyk’s paper accepted in Energy and Environmental Science! Leo Brody passes preliminary oral exam!

• Congratulations to Dr. Chongyan Ruan, Dr. Xijun Wang, and Dr. Li for publishing their article “Selective catalytic oxidation of ammonia to nitric oxide via chemical looping” in the high impact journal Nature Communications. Really fantastic work!
• The long-awaited publication of Dr. Xijun Wang and Emily Kryzstowczyk’s paper titled “High-Throughput Oxygen Chemical Potential Engineering of Perovskite Oxides for Chemical Looping Applications” has been accepted for publication in Energy and Environmental Science. Also co-authored on this paper are Li Group members Yunfei Gao, Sherafghan Iftikhar, Jian Dou, Runxia Cai,  Chonguan Ruan, and Dr. Li. Way to go!
• Leo Brody unconditionally passed his preliminary oral exam titled Perovskite-based Phase Transition Sorbents for CO2 Sorption Enhanced Oxidative Steam Reforming. He is now a PhD candidate!

January 2022 – Kyle Vogt-Lowell wins Linde Exceptional TA Award! Dr. Li wins prestigious Humboldt Prize!

• Congratulations to Kyle Vogt-Lowell for the Linde Exceptional Teaching Assistant award, which comes with $500. He won this award for his work as a TA for Dr. Lamb’s CHE 446 – Design and Analysis of Chemical Reactors. It’s also worth noting that Leo Brody was nominated for his work as a TA for CHE 225 – Chemical Process Principles. Way to go Kyle and Leo!
• Congratulations to our fearless leader, Dr. Fanxing Li, for winning the Humboldt Research Award, which is awarded to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany in recognition of their lifetime’s research achievements. The prize is currently valued at €60,000 with the possibility of further support during the prize winner’s life. Dr. Li will be moving to Germany for about 6 months to conduct research at the Berlin Technical University.

December 2021 – Kyle Vogt-Lowell wins KIETS Climate Leaders Program internship! Joey Funderberg graduates with his M.S!

• Congratulations to Kyle Vogt-Lowell for winning NCSU’s first KIETS Climate Leaders Program internship, which will fund a semester-long internship for Kyle either domestic or abroad related to CO2 capture technologies. We’re all very excited for Kyle!
• Joey Funderberg has graduated with his M.S. in Chemical Engineering and has found gainful employment as an Analytical & Formulation Sciences Operations Intern at KBI BioPharma in Durham, N.C. Way to go Joey!

November 2021 – The Li Group welcomes three first year Ph.D. students: Hilal Bektas, Aaron Frye, and Mahe Rukh.

• We are thrilled to have three new graduate students join our group who will be working on topics related to sorbent-enhanced biomass conversion and molten salt-mediated oxidative dehydrogenation.

October 2021 – Dr. Fanxing Li is recognized by Energy&Fuels as a rising star in energy related research! Li Group welcomes Dr. Rouchen Wu to the group!

• Congratulations to Dr. Fanxing Li for recognition by Energy&Fuels journal as a rising star in energy research. This recognition celebrates influential early- and mid-career researchers on their significant impact to various areas of energy research. Way to go Dr. Li!
• The Li group welcomes Dr. Rouchen Wu to the group as a postdoctoral researcher studying carbon capture!

September 2021 – Runxia’s paper gets accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering Journal. Li Group bids farewell to postdoc and longtime resident Yunfei Gao.

• Congratulations to Li Group members Dr. Runxia Cai,  Dr. Jian Dou, Emily Kryzstowczyk, and Dr. Fanxing Li for getting their paper titled “Chemical looping air separation with Sr0.8Ca0.2Fe0.9Co0.1O3-δ perovskite sorbent: packed bed modeling, verification, and optimization” accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering Journal!
• After many years in our group first as a Ph.D. student and then as a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Yunfei Gao is now pursuing an academic position in China. We will miss Yunfei’s work ethic and expertise, and wish him the best of luck!

August 2021 – Sherafghan’s paper gets accepted for publication in Energy and Fuels. Emily’s paper gets accepted into ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering.

• Congratulations to Li Group members Emily Kryzstowczyk, Dr. Vasudev Haribal, Dr. Jian Dou, and Dr. Fanxing Li for getting their paper titled “Chemical Looping Air Separation Using A Perovskite Based Oxygen Sorbent – System Design and Process Analysis”” accepted for publication in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering!
• Congratulations to Li Group members Sherafghan Iftikar, Dr. Yunfei Gao, Junchen Liu, Dr. Luke Neal, and Dr. Fanxing Li for getting their paper titled “LaNixFe1-xO3-δ as a Robust Redox Catalyst for CO2-Splitting and Methane Partial Oxidation” accepted for publication in Energy and Fuels!

July 2021 – Manuscript gets accepted for publication in ACS Catalysis! Leo Brody wins ASEE Design competition award.

• Congratulations to Li Group members Dr. Yunfei Gao, Dr. Xijun Wang, Dr. Runxia Cai, Sherafghan Iftikar, and Dr. Fanxing Li for getting their paper titled “Liquid Metal Shell as an Effective Iron Oxide Modifier for Redox-based Hydrogen Production at Intermediate-Temperatures” accepted for publication in ACS Catalysis!
• Leo Brody won $500 for best design in the graduate student section of  the ASEE DEED Design Vision Competition. His presentation, titled “Chemical Looping-Catalytic Converter: The pedagogical role of Chemical Looping technology in Chemical Engineering education” will be presented at the ASEE conference July 28.

June 2021 – Li Group welcomes new postdoc Dr. Xin Li!

• Dr. Xin Li joins the Li group to work on catalytic dehydrogenation of alkyl aromatic compounds. Dr. Xin Li’s Ph.D was in Chemical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2018. We are excited to welcome him aboard!

June 2021 – Recent research in styrene production gets featured on the Editor’s Highlights webpage for Nature Communications.

• A recent Li Group article published in Nature Communications titled “A tailored multi-functional catalyst for ultra-efficient styrene production under a cyclic redox scheme” has been featured on the Editor’s Highlights webpage! Congratulations again to the paper authors from our group: Dr. Yunfei Gao, Dr. Vasudev Haribal, Junchen Liu, Dr. Luke Neal, and Dr. Fanxing Li!

April 2021 – Li Group says goodbye to Dr. Ryan Dudek!

• Dr. Ryan Dudek is leaving the Li Group after 5 years of working with us a PhD student and a postdoctoral researcher. Ryan will continue working at Susteon, but then is moving to Washington, D.C. to begin work in a government agency as part of the AAAS Science & Technology Fellowship Program! We are so proud of Ryan and will miss him as a member of our group!

March 2021 – Li Group welcomes new postdoc Arnab Bose! Ryan Dudek’s paper gets accepted for publication in Fuel Processing Technology.

• Arnab Bose, who completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering here at NCSU in the Westmoreland group, will be studying plasma-assisted catalytic conversion of propane and CO2 into CO. He will also be working on reactor modeling for chemical looping ODH. We welcome Arnab to the group!
• Dr. Ryan Dudek’s paper titled, “Selective Hydrogen Combustion as an Effective Approach for Intensified Chemical Production via the Chemical Looping Strategy” has been accepted for publication in Fuel Processing and Technology. Congratulations on another paper, Ryan!

March 2021 – Xijun Wang and Emily Kryzstowczyk’s paper has been accepted for publication in Chemistry of Materials

• Dr. Xijun Wang and co-authors Emily Kryzstowczyk, Dr. Jian Dou, and Dr. Li had their paper, “Net Electronic Charge as an Effective Electronic Descriptor for Oxygen Release and Transport Properties of SrFeO₃-based Oxygen Sorbents”, accepted for publication in Chemistry of Materials! Well done Dr. Wang and Emily!

March 2021 – Li Group project gets a write up in C&EN news!

• One of the Li group projects which studies redox catalytic conversion of ethylbenzene to styrene without the use of steam has been written about in C&EN news! Congratulations to Yunfei Gao, Xijun Wang, Junchen Liu, Luke Neal and Dr. Li!

February 2021 – Li Group welcomes Alajia Thornton to the group!

• Alajia Thornton joins the Li group to conduct her M.S. thesis work on sorption enhanced reforming of bio-fuels for renewable syngas production alongside Leo Brody and Dr. Runxia Cai.  Alajia received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy and will continue her work in the U.S. military after completion of her M.S. Welcome Alajia!

February 2021 – Leo Brody and Luke Neal publish in Chemical Engineering Journal

• Leo Brody was co-first author on a paper with Dr. Luke Neal along with co-authors Dr. Vasudev Haribal and Dr. Li titled “Ethane to Liquids via a Chemical Looping Approach – Redox Catalyst Demonstration and Process Analysis” published in Chemical Engineering Journal. Congratulations!

December 2020 – Li Group welcomes Leo Brody and Kyle Vogt-Lowell to the group

• Two first-year PhD students have joined the Li Group and will take on exciting new projects: Leo Brody, formerly a masters student in the group, and Kyle Vogt-Lowell.  Welcome!

November 2020 – Leo Brody wins award at Carolina Science Symposium. Li Group says goodbye to Dr. Haiming Gu

• Leo Brody presented at the Carolina Science Symposium virtual conference received first place in his session for his presentation titled “Ethane to Liquids via a Chemical Looping Approach – Redox Catalyst Demonstration and Process Analysis”. Congratulations, Leo!
• Dr. Haiming Gu has finished his stay as a visiting scholar. We appreciated his work in the group and wish him luck in his career!

October 2020 – Ryan Dudek passes his PhD defense

• Ryan Dudek successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, titled “Redox Catalysts for Selective Hydrogen Combustion.” Ryan is sticking for a bit around to complete some final studies while working as a part-time consultant for Susteon Inc, but he plans on working in science public policy. Congratulations, Dr. Dudek!

October 2020 – Yuan Tian and Ryan Dudek’s paper is published in Chemical Engineering Journal

• Yuan Tian co-authored a paper along with Ryan Dudek and faculty members Fanxing Li and Phil Westmoreland titled “Effect of Sodium Tungstate Promoter on the Reduction Kinetics of CaMn0.9Fe0.1O3 for Chemical Looping-Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane”, which was published in Chemical Engineering Journal. Congratulations!

September 2020 – Dr. Gao publishes in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering

• Dr. Yunfei Gao published a paper co-authored by Dr. Shuang Wang,  Dr. Fang Hao, and Dr. Li titled “Zeolite-Perovskite Composites as Effective Redox Catalysts for Autothermal Cracking on n-Hexane” in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Congratulations Yunfei!

August 2020 – Li group bids farewell to Haiying Wang

• Haiying finished her one year study with the Li group this month. We have enjoyed working with Haiying and wish her the best of luck finishing her doctorate in China!

August 2020 – Ryan Dudek and Yuan Tian publish in Energy Technology

• Ryan Dudek published a paper co-authored with Yuan Tian and Dr. Li titled “Reduction kinetics of perovskite oxides for selective hydrogen combustion in the context of olefin production” published in Energy Technology. Congratulations!

April 2020 – Dr. Dou, Emily Kryzstowczyk, and Xijun Wang publish in Journal of Physics: Energy

• Dr. Jian Dou co-authored a paper with Emily Kryzstowczyk, Dr. Xijun Wang, and Dr. Li titled “Sr1-xCaxFe1-yCoyO3-δ as facile and tunable oxygen sorbents for chemical looping air separation” published in Journal of Physics: Energy. Congratulations!

March 2020 –  Emily Kryzstowczyk’s paper gets published in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics

• Emily Kryzstowczyk co-authored a paper with Dr. Xijun Wang, Dr. Jian Dou, Dr. Vasudev Haribal, and Dr. Li titled “Substituted SrFeO3 as robust oxygen sorbents for thermochemical air separation: correlating redox performance with compositional and structural properties” published in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. Congratulations!

February 2020 – Li Group welcomes new postdoctoral researcher Dr. Runxia Cai

• Dr. Cai’s undergraduate and graduate studies were both in thermal engineering at Tsinghua University. Dr. Cai will be applying his modeling background to work on dynamic simulation of chemical looping air separation as well as chemical looping ODH, but he will also be branching into new territory and working on sorption-enhanced reforming of biomass-derived compounds.

January 2020 – Dr. Dou, Emily Kryzstowczyk, and Xijun Wang publish in ChemSusChem

• Dr. Jian Dou co-authored a paper with Emily Kryzstowczyk, Xijun Wang, and Dr. Li titled “A‐ and B‐site Codoped SrFeO3 Oxygen Sorbents for Enhanced Chemical Looping Air Separation” in ChemSusChem. Congratulations!

December 2019 – Li Group welcomes Sherafghan Iftikhar, Megan Yaffey, and Dennis Chacko to the group

• Three first-year PhD students have joined the Li Group and will take on exciting new projects: Sherafghan Iftikhar, Megan Yaffey, and Dennis Chacko. Welcome!

December 2019 – Graduated students Vasudev and Seif join industry

• Two recently-defended PhD students, Vasudev Haribal and Seif Yusuf, have accepted research positions in industry and left the group this month. Vasudev will remain in the RTP region at Susteon, Inc., while Seif will work for Clariant in Louisville, KY. Congrats on your accomplishments, and best of luck in your new roles!

November 2019 – Visiting scholars join Li Group

• Visiting researchers Prof. Chongyan Ruan and Prof. Kun Zhao have joined the group. We look forward to continuing our collaboration — welcome!

November 2019 – Strong showing at AIChE Annual Meeting in Orlando, awards for Emily and Qiongqiong

• A cohort of Li Group researchers attended the AIChE Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL to give presentations. Among them, Emily Krzystowczyk was recognized with the Best Poster Award at the Particle Technology Forum, while Qiongqiong Jiang received a Travel Award from the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering division. Congrats to Emily and Qiongqiong!

September 2019 – Li Group attends SECS; Junchen wins poster award

• Dan Jackson and Junchen Liu attended the Southeastern Catalysis Society (SECS) annual meeting in Knoxville, TN, where Junchen was recognized with the Best Poster Award for his work on ethane ODH using molten salts. Congratulations, Junchen!

August 2019 – Li Group welcomes new first-year students to CBE!

• From Prof. Fanxing Li and the entire Li Group, we welcome the first-year PhD and MS students to the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering! Li Group seeks to recruit 1-2 PhD students this fall to work on exciting and high-impact projects on sustainable energy topics. Contact Dr. Li for more details!

July 2019 – Li Group welcomes back principal investigator Dr. Li and new visiting PhD student Haiying Wang

• Dr. Fanxing Li has concluded his sabbatical appointment at ETH Zurich and returned this month. In addition, visiting 4th-year PhD student Haiying Wang (Northeast Petroleum University) has joined the group for one year to study the perovskite-catalyzed pyrolysis of lignin towards high-value products. Welcome Haiying, and welcome back Dr. Li!

June 2019 – Li Group travels to Chicago, IL for the 26^th Meeting of the North American Catalysis Society

• Dr. Li and a large group of PhD students and visiting researchers attended the NAM 26 conference in Chicago, IL, to give both oral and poster presentations on their research. In addition, Ryan Dudek was selected by NACS to receive a Richard J. Kokes Travel Award to attend the conference. Nice work, everyone!

June 2019 – Seif Yusuf passes his PhD defense

• Seif Yusuf successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, titled “Development of Catalysts for the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane in a Cyclic Redox Scheme.” Seif plans to pursue an industrial research position after his defense. Congratulations, Dr. Yusuf!

June 2019 – Yunfei Gao passes his PhD defense

• Yunfei Gao successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, titled “Alkali Metal-Promoted La_xSr_2–xFeO_4−δ Redox Catalysts for Chemical Looping Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane.” Yunfei plans to pursue a postdoctoral appointment after his defense. Congratulations, Dr. Gao!

May 2019 – Li Group welcomes Leo Brody and Tolu Omotunde, says farewell to Dr. Shuang Wang

• Two Masters students, Leo Brody and Toluwalashe Omotunde, have joined the Li Group to work on their theses. Leo will focus on modular conversion of ethane to ethylene with Dr. Luke Neal, while Tolu will work on the methane dehydroaromatization reaction with Ryan Dudek. This month, Dr. Shuang Wang also concluded her visit. Welcome Leo and Tolu, and farewell Dr. Wang!

April 2019 – Five members of Li Group present at the ACS Spring 2019 National Meeting

• Yunfei Gao, Seif Yusuf, Ryan Dudek, Dr. Jian Dou, and Dr. Shuang Wang traveled to Orlando, FL to give oral presentations on their recent research at the American Chemical Society Spring 2019 National Meeting. Excellent work, everyone!

March 2019 – Vasudev Haribal wins first place at the 14^th Annual NC State Graduate Research Symposium, receives Sigma Xi award

• For his work on natural gas valorization, Vasudev Haribal took home First Place in Poster Presentations in the Engineering category at the Graduate Research Symposium. Vasudev was also recently recognized by Sigma Xi with a Graduate Research Award for his achievements in scientific research. Congratulations on your accomplishments, Vasudev — well-deserved!

March 2019 – Dr. Li begins his sabbatical at ETH Zurich

• Dr. Li has begun his three-month appointment as a visiting scholar in the group of Prof. Christoph Muller at ETH Zurich. Good luck, Dr. Li!

January 2019 – Li Group makes a strong showing at the 2019 Schoenborn Graduate Research Symposium

• At the 2019 Schoenborn Symposium hosted by the CBE Department, three PhD students from Li Group (Vasudev Haribal, Seif Yusuf, and Yunfei Gao) gave great talks, with Vasudev tying for First Place in Oral Presentations. Meanwhile, Ryan Dudek received the Vivian T. Stannett Award, Honorable Mention, for his work published in AIChE Journal. Congratulations to all!

January 2019 – Li Group welcomes first-year PhD student Junchen Liu and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Xijun Wang

• Li Group has grown by two! First-year PhD student Junchen Liu has joined the group to focus on molten salt-assisted hydrocarbon dehydrogenation chemistry, while Dr. Xijun Wang will apply DFT and machine learning methods towards multifunctional materials and catalysts. Welcome, Junchen and Xijun!

December 2018 – Amit Mishra passes his PhD defense

• Amit Mishra successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, titled “Tailored Mixed Metal Oxides for Chemical Looping Processes.” Amit will go on to work at Advanced Semiconductor Materials in Phoenix, AZ. Congratulations, Dr. Mishra!

December 2018 – Li Group says farewell to Prof. Xing Zhu and Prof. Young-Min Chung

• Visiting scholars Prof. Xing Zhu (Kunming University of Science and Technology) and Prof. Young-Min Chung (Kunsan National University) returned to their institutions this month. Thank you both for all of your help and contributions to our group, and good luck in all your endeavors!

November 2018 – Li Group welcomes Qiongqiong Jiang

• Qiongqiong Jiang, a 4th-year PhD candidate from the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has joined the group for a one-year visit. Qiongqiong’s research will focus on perovskites for methane partial oxidation paired with H₂O/CO₂ splitting. Welcome, Qiongqiong!

October 2018 – Vasudev Haribal brings home three awards at the 2018 AIChE Meeting

• At the AIChE Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA, fifth-year PhD student Vasudev Haribal won the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Poster Award for his work titled “Kinetics of Ethane Oxidative Dehydrogenation via Chemical Looping.” He also received third place in the Particle Technology Forum (PTF) Poster Session for his poster, “Light Alkane Valorization to Ethylene via Chemical Looping Oxidative Dehydrogenation,” and he received a Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) AIChE Travel Award. Congratulations Vasudev!!

October 2018 – Dr. Feng He receives the George Klinzing Best PhD Award at AIChE

• Alumnus Dr. Feng He has been awarded the competitive 2018 George Klinzing Best PhD Award by the AIChE Particle Technology Forum for outstanding research done during his PhD in Li Group. Congratulations Feng!

October 2018 – Li Group welcomes Dr. Fang Hao, says farewell to Xin Tian

• Dr. Fang Hao, from Xiangtan University, has joined the group as a visiting scholar. Also this month, visiting PhD student Xin Tian has completed his exchange year and returned to Wuhan to defend his dissertation. Good luck Xin, and welcome Dr. Hao!

October 2018 – Dr. Dou’s paper is published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

• Dr. Jian Dou’s study of perovskite oxides for chemical looping air separation has been published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Emily Krzystowczyk and Amit Mishra also contributed to this work. Congratulations!

September 2018 – Seif’s paper is accepted to Applied Catalysis B: Environmental

• Seif’s work on the application of manganese silicates to ethane oxidative dehydrogenation has been published in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. Vasudev and Dr. Luke Neal also contributed to the work. Congratulations!

August 2018 – Li Group welcomes new first years to the CBE Department

• Welcome to NC State CBE, new first years! Li Group is excited to announce that we are seeking two PhD students to join us this year. Please feel free to reach out to any group member to ask questions!

August 2018 – Vasudev’s paper is published in Engineering

• Vasudev’s work on process modeling for redox oxidative cracking of naphtha to ethylene was published in the inaugural issue of Engineering. Congratulations!

July 2018 – Dr. Zhu’s review article is accepted to ACS Catalysis

• Dr. Zhu’s review on perovskite oxides as redox catalysts has been accepted to ACS Catalysis. Dr. Luke Neal and Dr. Kongzhai Li (KUST) also contributed to the article. Congratulations!

June 2018 – Li Group welcomes Dr. Shuang Wang

• Prof. Shuang Wang, from Taiyuan University of Technology, China, has joined the group as a visiting scholar. Welcome Dr. Wang!

June 2018 – Amit’s review article is published in Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering

• Amit’s perspective article, “Chemical Looping at the Nanoscale: Challenges and Opportunities,” has been published in Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering. Congratulations!

March 2018 – Ryan’s paper is published in AIChE Journal

• Ryan’s work on the development of selective hydrogen combustion catalysts has been accepted to the Futures issue of AIChE Journal. Congratulations!

January 2018 – Yunfei’s paper is accepted to ACS Catalysis

• Yunfei’s follow-up work on alkali metal-promoted LSF redox catalysts for ethane ODH has been accepted to ACS Catalysis. Congratulations!

January, 2018 – Li Group welcomes Prof. Young-Min Chung

• Prof. Young-Min Chung, from Kunsan National University, Korea, has joined the group as a visiting scholar. Warm welcome to Prof. Chung!

December, 2017 – Li Group welcomes Dr. Jian (Jason) Dou

• Dr. Jason Dou has joined the group as a postdoctoral research associate. Dr. Dou comes with extensive experience in catalyst synthesis and characterization for energy and green chemistry applications. Welcome, Dr. Dou!

December, 2017 – Li Group welcomes Dan Jackson, Emily Krzystowczyk, and Yuan Tian

• Three first-year graduate students, Dan Jackson, Emily Krzystowczyk, and Yuan Tian, have joined the Li Group. Welcome to all!

November, 2017 – Li Group welcomes Xin Tian

• Xin Tian, a fifth-year graduate student at State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, has joined the group as an exchange student for one year. Xin will work with both Li Group and Westmoreland Group. Welcome, Xin!

September, 2017 – Li Group welcomes Dr. Yun Chen, says farewell to Arya Shafiefarhood

• Dr. Yun Chen, from South China University of Technology, has joined the group as a visiting scholar. Also this month, Arya Shafiefarhood has accepted a position at Advanced Semiconductor Materials in Phoenix, AZ. Congratulations and good luck to Arya, and welcome Dr. Chen!

August, 2017 – Li Group welcomes Prof. Moti Herskowitz

• Prof. Moti Herskowitz, the Israel Cohen Chair of Chemical Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, has joined the group as a visiting scholar for a three-month period. He encourages grad students from CBE to discuss research problems with him. Welcome, Prof. Herskowitz!

August, 2017 – Vasudev and Feng’s paper is published in ChemSusChem

• Work by Vasudev and Feng on Fe-doped BaMnO₃ for hybrid water splitting and syngas generation has been accepted to the journal ChemSusChem as a Very Important Paper. Amit also contributed to this work. Congratulations!

August, 2017 – Dr. Zhang’s paper is accepted to Science Advances

• Dr. Zhang’s remarkable work on the use of perovskite nanocomposites for CO2 splitting has been accepted for publication by Science Advances. Vasudev also contributed to this work. Congratulations!

June, 2017 – Li Group welcomes Dr. Xing Zhu, says farewell to Michael Gerber

• Dr. Xing Zhu, associate professor at Kunming University of Science and Technology, has joined the group as a visiting scholar. Also this month, Michael Gerber has defended his Master’s thesis and leaves with his Master’s. Congratulations and good luck to Michael, and welcome Dr. Zhu!

June, 2017 – Seif and Luke’s paper is published in ACS Catalysis

• The follow-up work by Seif and Dr. Luke Neal on promoted mixed metal oxides for ethane ODH has been accepted for publication by ACS Catalysis. Congratulations!

February, 2017 – Paper by Feng He is published in ES&T

• A paper prepared by Li Group alumnus Dr. Feng He on copper oxide OCs for chemical looping combustion (CLC) was accepted by Environmental Science and Technology. William Linak and Shuang Deng also contributed to the work. Congratulations!

February, 2017 – Vasudev’s paper is published in Energy

• Vasudev’s work on process simulations of ethane ODH has been accepted and published by the journal Energy. Dr. Neal also contributed to the work. Congratulations!

February, 2017 – Li Group says farewell to Dr. Zhang and Dr. Tianyang Li

• Visiting scholar Dr. Zhang has accepted a position at Xi’an Jiaotong University, in China, while Tianyang will begin a postdoctoral position at Duke University. We wish them both the best in their future endeavors!

February, 2017 – Paper by Arya and Dr. Zhang is published in JMCA

• Arya’s and Dr. Zhang’s work with Rh-promoted mixed oxides for methane partial oxidation (MPO) was accepted for publication by Journal of Materials Chemistry A. Dr. Neal also contributed to the work. Congratulations!

October, 2016 – Arya passes his defense

• Arya Shafiefarhood defended his PhD dissertation, titled “Core-Shell Redox Catalyst for Partial Oxidation of Methane with Active Lattice Oxygen.” He will remain with the group for a few months as a postdoctoral researcher. Congratulations, Arya!

October, 2016 – Luke and Seif’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Luke M Neal and Seif Yusuf was accepted for publication by Energy Technology. Congratulations!!

September, 2016 – Yunfei’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Yunfei Gao and Luke M Neal was accepted for publication by ACS Catalysis. Congratulations!!

September, 2016 – Li Group welcomes Tianyang Li

• Dr. Tianyang Li joined the group as a visiting researcher. Welcome, Tianyang!

August, 2016 – Nathan passes his defense

• Nathan Galinsky defended his PhD dissertation, titled “Investigation of Redox Metal Oxides for Carbonaceous Energy Conversion and CO₂ Capture.” He subsequently took a research position at National Energy Technology Laboratory. Congratulations, Nathan!

July, 2016 – Nathan’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Nathan Galinsky, Marwan Sendi, and Lindsay Bowers was accepted for publication by Applied Energy. Congratulations!!

February, 2016 – Amit’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Amit Mishra, Nathan Galinsky, and Feng He was accepted for publication by Catalysis Science and Technology, Congratulations!!

January, 2016 – Welcome New Members

• Ryan Dudek and Michael Gerber joined the group as graduate students.

November, 2015 – Arya’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Arya Shafiefarhood was accepted for publication by Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics, Congratulations!!

August, 2015 – Dr. Li was selected to receive the SABIC Young Professional Award given by the AIChE Particle Technology Forum

• During the summer Dr. Li was selected to receive the SABIC Young Professional Award given by the AIChE Particle Technology Forum. The Award recognizes an individual for outstanding and internationally recognized contributions in particle technology within seven years of obtaining their last degree. Dr. Li will receive the Award and deliver an invited presentation at the 2015 AIChE Annual Meeting. SABIC is the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. Congratulations!!

April, 2015 – Dr. Li received a Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award

• During the spring Dr. Li received a Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award from the NC State chapter of the society. The Award recognizes and rewards excellence in scientific research. Sigma Xi is a professional honor society whose mission is “to enhance the health of the research enterprise, foster integrity in science and engineering, and promote the public’s understanding of science for the purpose of improving the human condition”. Congratulations!!

April, 2015 – Junshe’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Junshe Zhang was accepted for publication by Applied Catalysis B, Congratulations!!

April, 2015 – Luke’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Luke Neal and Arya Shafiefarhood was accepted for publication by Applied Enery, Congratulations!!

April, 2015 – Nathan’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Nathan Galinsky and Amit Mishra was accepted for publication by Applied Enery, Congratulations!!

March, 2015 – Nathan received an award at the 10th Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium

• Nathan received 3rd place award at the 10th Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium for his poster “Effect of Support on Metal Oxide Design for Chemical Looping Conversion of Methane,”, Congratulations!!

March, 2015 – Nathan received the outstanding teaching assistant award

• Nathan received outstanding teaching assistant (OTA) award for fall semester for the second time, Congratulations!!

January, 2015 – Feng received the early publication award

• Feng received The Vivian T. Stannett Early Publication Fellowship Runner-up, Congratulations!!

January, 2015 – Feng received the 2014 Chinese Outstanding Students Award

• Feng received The 2014 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad, Congratulations!!

January, 2015 – Welcome New Members

• Seif Yusuf and Vasudev Haribal joined the group as a graduate students.

September , 2014 – Nathan’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Nathan Galinsky, Arya Shafiefarhood, Yanguang Chen, and Luke Neal was accepted for publication by Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Congratulations!!

August , 2014 – Luke’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Luke Neal and Arya Shafiefarhood was accepted for publication by ACS Catalysis, Congratulations!!

August, 2014 – Arya’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Arya Shafiefarhood and Amy Stewart was accepted for publication by Fuel, Congratulations!!

July, 2014 – Welcome New Member

• Yunfei Gao joined the group as a graduate student.

July, 2014 – Dr. Chen’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Yanguang Chen, Feng He, Shivalik Daga was accepted for publication by Journal of Chemical Industry and Engineering(China), Congratulations!!

June, 2014 – Dr. Chen’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Yanguang Chen, Nathan Galinsky, and Ziren Wang was accepted for publication by Fuel, Congratulations!!

March, 2014 – Nathan and Arya received outstanding teaching assistant award

• Nathan and Arya received outstanding teaching assistant (OTA) award for fall semester, Congratulations!!

January, 2014 – Nathan received the early publication award

• Nathan received The Vivian T. Stannett Early Publication Fellowship Runner-up, Congratulations!!

January, 2014 – Arya’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Arya Shafiefarhood, Nathan Galinsky, Yan Huang, and Yanguang Chen was accepted for publication by ChemCatChem, Congratulations!!

November, 2013 – ICCI awarded project to Li group

• ICCI awarded project to Li group to study perovskite based oxygen carriers for Illinois Coal conversion.

November, 2013 – High school students became Siemens Foundation Competition Regional Semifinalist

• High school students, Dharshan Sivaraj, Arjun Devarajan, and Samir Patel received recognition for being Siemens Foundation Competition Regional Semifinalist, Congratulations!!

October, 2013 – Biogen Idec renewed the project with Li group

• Biogen Idec renewed the project with Li group to study mammalian cell bioreactors.

May, 2013 – Department of Energy awarded project

• National Energy Technology Laboratory of the US Department of Energy awarded project to Profs. Li (PI) and Santiso (Co-PI) to study rational design of mixed-metal oxides for chemical looping applications.

April, 2013 – Feng’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Feng He and Nathan Galinsky was accepted for publication by International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Congratulations!!

April, 2013 – Eastman awarded project to Li group

• Eastman Chemical Company awarded project to Li group to study circulating bubble column reactors.

January, 2013 – ICCI awarded project to Li group

• Illinois clean coal institute (ICCI) awarded a seedling project to explore a new concept for CO hydrogenation.

January, 2013 – Nathan’s paper is published

• The article prepared by Nathan Galinsky, Yan Huang, and Arya Shafiefarhood was accepted for publication by ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Congratulations!!

December, 2012 – Prof. Li received the NSF CAREER award

• Prof. Li received the NSF CAREER award. The award will allow the Li group to study new redox catalysts for biomass tar removal.

December, 2012 – ARPA-E awarded project to Li group

• The Advanced Research Project Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) of the U.S. Department of Energy awarded project to Bio2Electric (Lead), NCSU, and Fuel Cell Energy to conduct research on electricity and ethylene co-production from methane.

October, 2012 – Eastman Chemical Company awarded project to Li group

• Eastman Chemical Company awarded project to Li (PI), Parsons (co-PI), and Tracy (Co-PI) Groups to study selective C-H bond activation for organic oxygenates synthesis.

May, 2012 – Army Research Office awarded project to Li group

• The US Department of Defense Army Research Office awarded project to Li group under the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP).

January, 2012 – Biogen Idec awarded project to Li Group

• Biogen Idec has awarded a two-year project to Li Group titled “Hydrodynamics Studies of Mammalian Cell Culture Bioreactors”.

January, 2012 – Welcome New Members

• Nathan Galinsky, Arya Shafiefarhood, and Donny Bohuana joined the group as graduate students.

August, 2011 – Positions Available

• We are actively recruiting undergraduate and graduate researchers. Prospective posdoctoral researchers and visiting scholars are also welcome. Please check our research page for our exciting research projects. Contact Dr. Fanxing Li if you are interested or have any questions.

July, 2011 – Dr. Fanxing Li Delivered Multiple Invited Talks in China

• Dr. Li was invited to give presentations regarding his past and ongoing research at various research institutions in China including Tsinghua University, Institute of Process Engineering in the Chinese National Academy of Sciences, East China University of Technology, and National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy. Link