{"id":99,"date":"2017-01-05T14:37:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T19:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/?page_id=99"},"modified":"2025-04-02T11:19:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T15:19:45","slug":"members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/members\/","title":{"rendered":"Members"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Li Research Group (June 2022)<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Top Row, Left to right:<\/em> Ryota Akutsu, William Martin, Dr. Xin Li, Dr. Luke Neal, Kyle Vogt-Lowell, and Sherafghan Ifthikar.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Middle Row, Left to right: <\/em>Leo Brody, Dr. Jian Dou , Dennis Chacko, Junchen Liu, Dr. Fanxing Li, Dr. Rouchen Wu, and Aaron Frye.\u00a0<\/span> Bottom Row, Left to right: <\/em>Mahe Rukh, Hilal Bektas, Emily Krzystowczyk, Dr. Kunran Yang, and Dr. Chongyan Ruan.<\/span><\/p>\n

*Not Pictured: Yian Tian and Dr. Runxia Cai.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Principal Investigator<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fanxing Li<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alcoa Professor and University Faculty Scholar<\/p>\n

B.S. Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University (2001)
\nM.S. Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University (2004)
\nPh.D. The Ohio State University (2009)<\/i><\/span><\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Visiting Scholars, Senior and Postdoctoral Researchers<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Luke Neal<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Research Assistant Professor<\/p>\n

B.S. Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2003)
\nPh.D. Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida (2008)<\/i><\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Baitang Jin<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral Researcher<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education: <\/strong>B.S. Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University (2014)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

M.E. Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University (2017)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology \u00a0(2022)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Research: <\/strong>\u201cI work on catalyst development in the dehydrogenation process to obtain valuable products. I am also working on the reactor system design to achieve a more efficient pathway.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/span><\/strong>Traveling, Cooking, Video Games.<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mohammedreza Kosari<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral Researcher<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education: <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

M.Sc. Energy Engineering, Sharif University of Technology (2013)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, National University of Singapore (2022)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Research: <\/strong>\u201cMy research is to investigate morphology-performance relationship of advanced nanocatalysts in heterogeneous catalysis, especially for sustainability-motivated reactions such as CO2 utilization and CH4 transformation to produce value-added chemicals”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/span><\/strong>Gym and learning.<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yuge Yao<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral Researcher<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

B.E. Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University (2018)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Ph.D. Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University (2023)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Research: <\/strong>“My research focuses on hydrogen production via biomass gasification. I’m working on the design and development of gas-solid flow reactors and redox catalysis.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests:<\/span><\/strong> Soccer, traveling, and movies<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yuhan Mei<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral Researcher<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Education:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

B.S. East China Normal University (2016)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Ph.D. Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University (2021)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Research: <\/strong>“My research interests lie in using ab initio<\/em> calculations via density functional theory (DFT) to understand and predict fundamental material properties for chemical applications.”<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Doctoral Students<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dennis Chacko<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Candidate\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Education:<\/strong> B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County (2019)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:<\/span><\/strong> “<\/span>I work on oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene using molten salt promoted catalysts. I am also working on developing molten salt catalysts for integrated CO2 capture and CO2-ODH.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Playing the saxophone and singing.<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kyle Vogt-Lowell\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Candidate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education:<\/strong> <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

B.A. Biology\/Biological Sciences, Cornell University (2017)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

M.S. Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University (2022)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Research: <\/strong>\u00a0“I’m currently exploring CO2 capture and utilization from power plant flue gas in the context of ethane dehydrogenation. By employing novel molten salt and mixed oxide substrate chemistries in a chemical looping scheme, we hope to improve upon traditional CO2-ODH processes, decreasing CO2 emissions while creating value-added chemical products.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests:\u00a0<\/strong>Music, tennis, hiking\/camping, and BJJ.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mahe Rukh<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Candidate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education:<\/strong> B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (2017)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“My research centers around designing effective multifunctional catalytic sorbents for converting biomass wastes into renewable syngas.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>Playing Kalimba and reading.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aaron Frye<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Candidate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education:<\/strong> B.S. Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University (2012)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“I work on an Eastman project related to oxidative dehydrogenation of alkenyl benzene compounds using tailored perovskite oxides.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>I enjoy video games, disc golf, hiking, cooking and quality time with my wife and dogs.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hilal Bektas<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Candidate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education:<\/strong> B.S. Chemical Engineering, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey (2021)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“I work on thermal energy storage and thermochemical oxygen capture systems.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>Climbing and spending quality time with friends.<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
William Martin<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Student<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education: <\/strong>B.S. Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University (2021)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“I am working with Sherafghan Iftikhar on methane dry reforming for sustainable syngas production.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>Soccer, frisbee golf.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sam Portillo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Candidate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education: <\/strong>B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Arizona (2019)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“My research encompasses the development of heterogeneous catalysts for the decomposition of methane to hydrogen and carbon nanotubes. I am specifically interested in exsolvable systems that enable tuning of active metal particle sizes and metal-support interactions.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>Reading, trying new foods, learning\/playing piano.<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seyedamin Razavi<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Candidate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education: <\/strong>B.S. Chemical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology (2022)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“My research focuses on sorbents for the direct capture of CO2 from ambient air (DAC).”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>Soccer, movies, and music.<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ibrahim Sultan<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Student<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore (2015)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

M.Eng. Materials Engineering Science, Osaka University, Japan (2021)<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“I am working on the process intensification strategies for naphtha cracking for production of valuable chemicals. I am also working on the dehydrogenation process. “<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>Cycling, Cooking, Photography, Exploring new places, quality time with my family and friends.<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Casey Killmer<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Student<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University (2019)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“I am working on Sorption-enhanced processes for the development of sustainable fuels and chemicals and finding possible routes for the utilization of CO2 as a chemical feedstock.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>Playing soccer, watching football, hiking, and reading.<\/span><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Micah Dickens<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD Student and Goodnight Fellow, co-advised by Prof. Michael Dickey<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i>Education:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, University of South Alabama (2023)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Research:\u00a0<\/strong>“I work to understand gallium-based liquid metals for catalysis. This work has multiple applications, such as the dehydrogenation of alkane, CO2 reduction reactions, and the catalytic decomposition of methane. My project is developing more effective synthetic routes for catalytic synthesis and then applying these newly developed catalysts to standard model systems, such as the dehydrogenation of propane.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies\/Interests: <\/strong>Reading (Tolkien and theology), Hiking, Playing Baseball and other sports, and playing Chess.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n

\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Masters<\/strong> Students<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Undergraduate Researchers<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
    \n
  • Josh Sellers<\/li>\n
  • Rosie<\/span>\u00a0Revell<\/li>\n
  • Kaitlyn Rosenberg<\/li>\n
  • Tochukwu Aniekwensi<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Connor O’Brien<\/li>\n
  • Sam Crowley<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Former Group Members<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Graduate Students<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
    \n
  • Leo Brody, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2024) <\/em>— <\/em>currently a postdoc at the University of Washington.<\/li>\n
  • Jack Hughes, M.S. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2024)<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Lauren Teague, M.S. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2024) — <\/em>currently at North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.<\/li>\n
  • Sherafghan Iftikhar, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2023) <\/em>— <\/em>currently a postdoc at Berkeley Labs.<\/li>\n
  • Junchen Liu, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2023) — <\/em>currently at Eastman Chemical.<\/li>\n
  • Yuan Tian,\u00a0Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2022) — <\/em>currently at MSA Safety Appliances.<\/li>\n
  • Emily Kryzstowczyk, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2022) — <\/em>currently in Future Leaders Program at BASF.<\/li>\n
  • Alajia Thornton,\u00a0M.S. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2021) — <\/em>currently at U.S. Army Chem Corps.<\/li>\n
  • Joey Funderberg,\u00a0M.S. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2021) — <\/em>currently at KBI BioPharma.<\/li>\n
  • Yunfei Gao, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2019) <\/em>— <\/em>currently an associate professor at East China University of Science and Technology.<\/li>\n
  • Ryan Dudek, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2020) —\u00a0<\/em>currently a AAAS Science and Technology Fellow.<\/li>\n
  • Seif Yusuf,\u00a0Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2019) —\u00a0<\/em>currently at Clariant Specialty Chemicals.<\/li>\n
  • Vasudev Haribal, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2019) —\u00a0<\/em>currently at Susteon, Inc.<\/li>\n
  • Daniel Jackson,\u00a0M.S. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2019) —\u00a0<\/em>currently at Cree.<\/li>\n
  • Amit Mishra, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2018)<\/em> — currently at Advanced Semiconductor Materials.<\/li>\n
  • Arya Shafiefarhood, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2016)<\/em> — currently at Advanced Semiconductor Materials.<\/li>\n
  • Nathan Galinsky, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2016)<\/em> — currently an assistant professor at West Virginia Technical University.<\/li>\n
  • Feng He, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, NC State University (2015) — <\/em>currently at Tesla Motors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Just a few places where some of our previous group members have found employment:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Postdoctoral Researchers & Visiting Scholars<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
    \n
  • Kunran Yang, Ph.D., ShanghaiTech University<\/em> (2021) — currently at UL Research Institutes<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Chongyan Ruan, Ph.D., Chinese Academy of Sciences<\/em> (2019)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Runxia Cai, Ph.D., Tsinghua University (2020) — currently Assistant Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Shuang Wang, Ph.D., Jilin University (2011) <\/em>— currently at Taiyuan University of Technology<\/li>\n
  • Xing Zhu, Ph.D.<\/em> — currently at Kunming University of Science and Technology<\/li>\n
  • Young-Min Chung, Ph.D.<\/em> — currently at Kunsan National University<\/li>\n
  • Xin Tian, Ph.D.<\/em> — currently at Huazhong University of Science and Technology<\/li>\n
  • Yun Chen, Ph.D.<\/em> — currently at South China University of Technology<\/li>\n
  • Moti Herskowitz, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, UC Davis (1978)<\/em> — currently at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev<\/li>\n
  • Junshe Zhang, Ph.D., National University of Singapore<\/em> — currently at Xi’an Jiaotong University<\/li>\n
  • Yang Liu, Ph.D., Harbin Institute of Technology (2003)<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Tianyang Li, Ph.D. Chemistry, Ohio State University (2016)<\/em> — currently at Duke University<\/li>\n
  • Matthew Cooper, Ph.D., Ohio University (2008)<\/em> — currently at NC State University<\/li>\n
  • Yan Huang, Ph.D.<\/em> — currently at Xiangtan University<\/li>\n
  • Yanguang Chen, Ph.D.<\/em> — currently at Northeast Petroleum University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Undergraduate Students<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
    \n
  • Elizabeth Nguyen<\/li>\n
  • Anna Lawrence<\/li>\n
  • Azin Saberi Bosari<\/li>\n
  • Eric Giavedoni<\/li>\n
  • Lexi Pierce<\/li>\n
  • Madison Baldwin<\/li>\n
  • Millicent Blivin<\/li>\n
  • Megan Boland<\/li>\n
  • Timothy Brantley<\/li>\n
  • Shivalik Daga<\/li>\n
  • Arjun Devarajan<\/li>\n
  • Carl Druebbisch<\/li>\n
  • Farrah Haeri<\/li>\n
  • J. Clay Hamill<\/li>\n
  • Soveth Hourn<\/li>\n
  • Dylan Jackson<\/li>\n
  • Gaochen Jin<\/li>\n
  • Daniel Kim<\/li>\n
  • Alan May<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Finlay O’Donnell<\/li>\n
  • Patrick O’Shea<\/li>\n
  • Samir Patel<\/li>\n
  • Courtney Paulus<\/li>\n
  • Benazir Asifa Mohamed Raffi<\/li>\n
  • Thomas Robbins<\/li>\n
  • Evan Scott<\/li>\n
  • Marwan Sendi<\/li>\n
  • Ji-Young Shin<\/li>\n
  • Elizabeth Shively<\/li>\n
  • Dharshan Sivaraj<\/li>\n
  • Brian Todd Smith<\/li>\n
  • Amy Stewart<\/li>\n
  • Grant Thomas<\/li>\n
  • Ziren Wang<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Li Research Group (June 2022) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Top Row, Left to right: Ryota Akutsu, William Martin, Dr. Xin Li, Dr. Luke Neal, Kyle Vogt-Lowell,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-99","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":574,"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99\/revisions\/574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbe.ncsu.edu\/ligroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}