The American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Energy and Fuels has named NIU Chemistry Professor Tao Li as the recipient of its 2022 Emerging Researcher Award.
Tao Li
The award, accompanied by a plaque and $1,000 prize, recognizes and encourages scientists who are early or midway into their careers and have made sustained and distinguished contributions to the field of fuel chemistry. It will be presented during the Spring ACS Meeting 2023.
“This award is well-deserved recognition of Professor Tao Li’s profound creativity, unparalleled work ethic, outstanding research program and service to the scientific community,” said Ralph Wheeler, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “As an emerging researcher, he can look forward to many more years of spectacular research success at NIU.”
Li holds a joint appointment between NIU and Argonne National Laboratory. His research includes work that could lay the foundation for improvements to ubiquitous rechargeable batteries used in electronic devices, electric vehicles and grid energy storage.
Since arriving at NIU in 2018, Li has been attracted more than $2 million in external funding for his research from the likes of the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy. He also has authored or co-authored more than 150 papers.
Last year, NSF awarded Li with a grant of $271,000 over three years to characterize the transport property and microstructure of battery electrolytes. Crucial to battery performance, electrolytes are chemicals that allow an electrical charge to pass between two terminals. Li also is a co-principal investigator on a DOE grant to Argonne National Laboratory for the study of solid-state electrolytes in lithium batteries.
In addition to his battery research, Li received a $200,000 NSF grant in 2019 to investigate novel ways of converting greenhouse gases into useful fuels.
Li has been active in the ACS, having served as co-chair of several symposiums during organization meetings, and regularly involves students in his research. His research group currently has one post-doctoral staff member, six graduate students, and five former Research Rookies. Erik Sarnello, one of Li’s students, recently graduated with his Ph.D. and started a post-doctoral position at Argonne.
