Jing Li (chemist) facts for kids

Jing Li (Chinese: 李静) is a very important chemistry professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, United States. She and her team study special materials. These materials are like building blocks for new technologies.

Her research helps create new materials. These new materials can be used for renewable and sustainable energy. They also help make our environment cleaner. She has even created materials called metal-organic frameworks and special semiconductors.

Professor Li's work is very well-known. She has 12 patents, which means she invented many things. She has also written over 460 scientific papers. These papers are published in top science magazines like Science Magazine and Nature Communications. Because her work is so important, she was named a "Highly Cited Researcher" multiple times. This means many other scientists use and refer to her research.

Her School Days

Jing Li started her university studies in China. After that, she came to the United States. She earned her master's degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

She then went to Cornell University for her PhD. She finished her PhD in January 1990. Her teacher was Professor Roald Hoffmann, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1981. After her PhD, she stayed at Cornell for two more years. She worked as a researcher before joining Rutgers University.

Her Career at Rutgers

Professor Li started working at Rutgers University in 1991. She began as an assistant professor. She quickly moved up the ranks. In 1996, she became an associate professor. By 1999, she was a full professor. In 2006, she became a distinguished professor.

Today, her research group is quite large. It includes many different people. There are researchers who have already finished their PhDs. There are also students working on their master's or PhD degrees. Plus, there are visiting scientists and even undergraduate students. Professor Li has taught 17 different science courses. She has taught both undergraduate and graduate students.

What She Researches

Professor Li's research focuses on creating new materials. These materials are important for clean and renewable energy. She works on two main types of materials:

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs)

MOFs are special materials made from metal ions and organic molecules. Think of them like tiny sponges. They have many small holes. These holes can store gases. They can also separate different gases.

MOFs are used for many things:

• Storing gases: They can hold gases like hydrogen or natural gas.
• Cleaning the air: They can capture carbon dioxide. This helps reduce pollution.
• Cleaning water: They can remove harmful substances from water.
• Sensing chemicals: They can detect tiny amounts of chemicals.
• Energy-efficient lighting: They can help make lights that use less energy.

Hybrid Semiconductors

These are special crystals. They are made from both inorganic and organic parts. They combine the best features of both. This makes them very good for electronic devices.

They are used in things like:

• Solar cells: These turn sunlight into electricity.
• LED lights: These are the bright, energy-saving lights we see everywhere.

These hybrid materials are stronger and work better. They help create more efficient devices.

Awards and Honors

Jing Li has received many awards for her amazing work. Here are some of them:

• Henry Rutgers Research Fellow, Rutgers University, 1991–1993
• Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation, 1994–1998
• Presidential Faculty Fellow, The National Science Foundation, 1995–2000
• NSF CAREER Award, The National Science Foundation, 1995
• The Board of Trustees Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence, Rutgers University, 1996
• Outstanding Achievement Award, Chinese Association of Science and Technology, US, 2002
• The U.S. Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Award, The Department of Energy, 2012
• Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2012
• The Humboldt Research Award (Humboldt Prize), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2013
• Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research, Rutgers University, 2013
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015