PI Dr. Yuexiao Shen
Dr. Shen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at Texas Tech University from 2019 Fall. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University, followed by a Ph.D. from Penn State in 2016. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Prof. Peidong Yang’s lab at UC Berkeley in 2019. Dr. Shen has published over 50 papers in top-tier journals including Science, Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Catalysis, Science Advances, Nature Communications, PNAS, and JACS. His work is supported by agencies such as NIH, DoD, SERDP, DoE, NSF, and EPA. Beyond his academic research, Dr. Shen has a strong interest in astronomy. He collaborates with the Department of Physics at Texas Tech, contributing to outreach and observatory teaching lab activities. He also operates two professional observatories, and his astrophotography was featured by NASA’s ‘Astronomy Picture of the Day’ on November 23, 2023.
Yilang Sun (Yilang.Sun@ttu.edu)
Yilang Sun is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at Texas Tech University. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Environmental Engineering from universities in China. Yilang has authored more than four peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Chemosphere, and Environmental Advances, and holds a patent in the field of environmental treatment. His research focuses on advanced oxidation processes for wastewater treatment, the development of novel adsorbents with high affinity for PFAS, and column studies for large-scale treatment applications. His work has been recognized through several awards, including the TWRI USGS Graduate Scholarship, the Graduate Student Research Support Award, and the Summer Thesis/Dissertation Research Award in 2025. Yilang currently serves as a research assistant under the supervision of Dr. Yuexiao Shen. Outside of his academic pursuits, Yilang enjoys outdoor activities, particularly table tennis, hiking, and fishing.
Li Ling (liling@ttu.edu)
Li Ling is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at Texas Tech University. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from universities in China. Her research interests include sustainable resource recovery, membrane separation, and ion transport in complex water systems. She is particularly interested in developing practical and sustainable approaches for recovering valuable resources and understanding the mechanisms governing selective ion separation in membrane processes. Before joining Texas Tech, Li gained research experience in membrane materials, separation processes, and environmental applications. She has published three papers as a first author or co-first author in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and the Journal of Membrane Science. She has also contributed to publications in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, and Applied Organometallic Chemistry. Li enjoys collaborating with others, exchanging ideas, and learning from people with diverse backgrounds. She values open communication and teamwork and is enthusiastic about exploring new ideas both in and outside the laboratory. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, hiking, traveling, discovering new places, and spending time with her two adorable cats.