Yi was a graduate student (2000–2004) and then a postdoctoral fellow (2004–2005) in the group at UCLA. Following a postdoctoral stint at the Scripps Research Institute, He started his National Laboratory career as a Staff Scientist at the Molecular Foundry, a user facility associated with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In July 2021, Yi was promoted to Senior Staff Scientist, a position that recognizes experienced staff for their contributions in leadership, research and service at the Lab and within the greater scientific community.
During Yi’s time at UCLA, he had pioneered the synthetic effort of redox-active molecular muscles, which led to the successful fabrication of stimulus-responsive mechanical actuators. When not busy flexing his tiny muscles, he had lots of fun making self-complexing pseudorotaxanes and catenanes (pretzelanes). At the Molecular Foundry, Yi’s research portfolio spans organic electronics, porous organic frameworks, and hybrid and composite materials, with a focus on energy related applications, such as solar energy conversion, energy storage, solar fuel, gas separation and storage. Congratulations Yi!
Picture below: Yi Liu alongside the Foundry photo and logo:
