Yangyang Liu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Graduate Program in Materials Science & Engineering Program (Courtesy Appointment)
Principal Investigator/Director of the Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials
California State University, Los Angeles
Office Location: RH 221 E
Office Phone: 323-343-2323
Curriculum Vitae (Updated 7/26/2022)
Experience
2021 - present Associate Professor of Chemistry, Cal State LA
2016 - 2021 Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Cal State LA
2014 - 2016 Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University
Advisors: Dr. Joseph Hupp and Dr. Omar Farha
Education
2014 Ph.D. in Chemistry, Texas A&M University
Advisor: Dr. Hongcai Zhou
2009 B.S. in Chemistry, Nankai University
Honors and Awards
2023-2026 Department of Energy FAIR Award
2018-2021 Department of Defense HBCU/MI Research and Education Program Award
2017-2019 American Chemical Society (ACS PRF) New Investigator Award
2017-2019 National Science Foundation CREST Supplement Award
2017-2018 La Kretz Environmental Endowment
2017-2018 CSU Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (RSCA) Program Awards
About Yangyang:
Yangyang was born and raised in a city called Weifang in the Shandong Province of China. While studying at Nankai from 2005 to 2009, she conducted research on polymers for biomedical applications. In 2009, she moved to the United States and started her PhD studies with Dr. Hongcai Zhou at Texas A&M University, where she learned how to make crystalline materials for gas storage and separations (renewable energy applications). In 2014, Yangyang obtained her PhD and moved to Northwestern University, working with Dr. Joseph Hupp and Dr. Omar Farha as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where she applied crystalline porous materials for catalysis related to defense purposes. In 2016, Yangyang became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Cal State LA and started her independent career. In 2021, she received early tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor. Her group is interested in exploring new/hybrid materials for solar cells, catalysis, water purification, gas storage, conductivity, carbon capture, and biomedical applications.