Top US Scientist Yi Shouliang Joins Chinese Efforts

Yi departs from the University of Pittsburgh within a year due to an emerging academic position amidst growing strains between China and the US.

Senior scientist Yi Shouliang has come back. China to assume a new position Sichuan University , following his permanent departure from the US where he had previously served at the federal government's Department of Energy.

The career choice, following this year’s rising tensions, China-US tensions I saw him depart from his academic role As an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh following fewer than 12 months, he also dissolved his business endeavors.

Earlier, he served as a principal scientist and project leader at the Department of Energy's national laboratory. Energy At the Technology Laboratory (NETL), he concentrated on the Water-Energy Program but stepped down in June 2023 after leading for five years.

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He subsequently established American Sustainable Membrane Technology, where he served as CEO.

At NETL, Yi concentrated his efforts on creating new types of membranes and absorbent substances aimed at enhancing the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) program as well as improving water management projects.

The details regarding his exit are not revealed, and there are no publicly available records listing Yi as a lead researcher on the DOE and NETL’s official sites, even though he worked with them for an extended period. Currently, his name is mentioned solely in patent applications and project proposals.

Yi did not reply to an email asking for his comments on his resignation from the Department of Energy.

Earlier this year, Yi assumed his position at Sichuan University, an educational institution in China featured on the US Entity List. His ongoing work encompasses cutting-edge advancements in separation technology and engineering. Additionally, the university’s Green Low-Carbon Separation Technology and CCUS Innovation Team explores areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

These technologies These applications are utilized for advanced membrane materials, porous functional substances, carbon capture and conversion processes, energy storage systems, gas separation techniques, and selective ionic separations.

As per the official webpage of Sichuan University, Yi has several roles such as being a Hai Na distinguished professor, a doctoral advisor, and the leader of the Green Low-Carbon Separation Technology and CCUS Innovation Team.

He has been selected for the National Overseas High-Level Talent Program, formerly referred to as the "Thousand Talents Initiative."

This program by the Chinese government aims to draw in and back top scientists and creators who can push forward key technological advancements, spur high-technology sectors, and encourage cross-disciplinary entrepreneurial activities within China.

Although Yi’s publicly accessible academic history starts with his doctoral work at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), information about his earlier educational background, including his undergraduate and master's degrees, was not originally revealed.

According to a review of publication records, Yi obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Jiangnan University, which was previously known as the Wuxi Institute of Light Industry, in 2005.

Significantly, the university has expertise in food science, a discipline closely related to Yi's initial work on lees fermentation.

Following the completion of his doctorate at UCAS, Yi redirected his attention solely towards membrane separation technology.

He gained scholarly acknowledgment for his thesis entitled "Development, Efficiency, and Uses of Organically Permeable Vaporization membranes."

Yi, who has numerous published works to his credit, completed his graduation in 2009 and was promptly made an assistant professor at UCAS. In this role, he took charge of the Renewable Energy Project team, directing efforts towards biofuel creation through a combined fermentation-pervaporation method.

"A very good brother and friend - he has done very well in his research and has been working in the field of membrane separation," a UCAS faculty member said, declining to be named.

In 2010, Yi took up the position of research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

A couple of years afterward, he relocated to the United States and became part of the research team led by William J. Koros, a distinguished member of the National Academy of Engineering based at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. In this role, he functioned as both a senior scientist, lab manager, and lead project supervisor concurrently.

In this phase, Yi broadened his knowledge base beyond academic circles. He authored a study on membrane materials designed for purifying natural gas by removing CO₂ and H₂S, which was featured in Science Advances.

At the same time, he headed a research team comprising over 20 individuals, served as the chief editor of a journal focused on membrane technology, and fostered partnerships between Chinese educational institutions and global scholars.

Prior to her appointment at the NETL in May 2018, Yi held the position of associate editor for journals such as Separation and Purification Technology, Industrial Chemistry & Materials, and Carbon Capture Science & Technology. Additionally, she acted as the managing editor of Results in Engineering.

Yi has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles in publications like Nature Materials and owns 12 patents in the fields of membranes and separation technology.

In 2022, Yi was honored with the Elsevier Engineering Frontiers Outstanding Scientist Award and was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, one of Europe’s premier scientific institutions. This signified his last notable recognition within Western academic circles.

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Top US Scientist Yi Shouliang Joins Chinese Efforts