NEES News

Hu wins 2015 Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award

The winner of the A. James Clark School of Engineering 2015 Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award is:

Dr. Liangbing Hu

Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

University of Maryland Energy Research Center

Dr. Liangbing Hu obtained his B.S. in Applied Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China (2002). He earned an M.S. degree (2004) and his Ph.D. degree (2007) from the University of California, Los Angeles, while working on nanoelectronics. After his Ph.D., he joined Unidym, Inc. as a co-founding scientist working on roll-to-roll flexible electronics. In 2009, he started a postdoctoral appointment at Stanford, where he focused on Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors. He joined the University of Maryland College Park in 2011, and is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Dr. Hu’s research focuses on novel nanocellulose materials and their applications, solid-state electrolytes for lithium batteries, and the application of graphene as a material for transparent electrodes – areas in which he has established himself as a recognized expert. Dr. Hu’s work has greatly influenced the field of nanoscience and technology.

The impact of Dr. Hu’s scholarly contribution to his field is well evidenced by a strong publication record with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, as well as having received over 10,000 citations to his work. Dr. Hu has been recognized by a broad spectrum of members of the scientific and engineering community: he received a 2013 Air Force Young Investigator award, a 2014 3M Non-Tenured Faculty award, and the 2014 Maryland Outstanding Young Engineer Award by the Maryland Academy of Sciences. Dr. Hu was also recognized as a 2014 Emerging Investigator by the J. Materials Chemistry and as a 2014 “Campus Star” by the American Society for Engineering Education. His findings have also received abundant coverage in the media including the NPR show “Science Friday,” Science News Daily, News and Views in Nature, the Materials Research Society's e-bulletin, and others. Dr. Hu, in collaboration with Dr. Eric Wachsman, won the UMD Invention of the Year Award in the Physical Sciences in 2013 for a low-cost, high-energy solid state lithium-ion battery with the potential of improving safety and reliability.

The Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award is an important Clark School tradition, an annual honor (now in its fifth year) whose purpose is to celebrate and inspire exceptionally strong and influential research by faculty members at the assistant or associate professor rank. The recipient’s work should promise significant and lasting impact in his or her research discipline.

November 12, 2015