Aspen grew up in Guangzhou, a beautiful city in southern China. After obtaining his B.S. degree from Fudan University in 2014, he moved to the United States to pursue his Ph.D. degree at Princeton University under the supervision of Prof. Erik J. Sorensen. His graduate research focused on the development of new transition-catalyzed methods for the direct ortho C-H functionalizations of benzaldehydes using transient directing groups. In 2019, he moved to Northwestern University and joined the Stoddart group as a post-doctoral researcher. His current research involves the development of new porous materials with unique structures and functions.