Education B.S.(Phys) Jilin University, P. R. China (June,1994) M.S.(Phys) Jilin University, P. R. China (June, 1997) Ph.D.(Phys) Jilin University, P. R. China (March, 2000) Professional Appointments Assistant Professor, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark (2000 - 2002) Research Associate, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA (2002 - 2005) Assistant Chemist, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA (2005 - 2007) Associate Chemist, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA (2007 - 2010) Chemist, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA (2010 - 2011) Chemist with Tenure, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA (2011 - present) Adjunct associate Professor, Chemistry Department, SUNY Stony Brook, USA (2015-present)

Theoretical description of diverse materials (metal, metal oxide, carbide, sulfide, phosphide) in various forms (nanostructures, supported nanostructures, surfaces) and their applications with a focus on energy production, conversion and storage. The current research focuses on the heterogeneous catalysts for production of fuels from greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane), electrocatalysts involved in fuel cells which convert the chemical energy to electricity and battery materials for storage of electricity. Density functional calculations, kinetic modeling and sensitivity analysis are employed to obtain a fundamental understanding of how the materials function and provide guidance for design of advanced catalysts using the machine-learning based methods.

Liu Z, Huang E, Orozco I, Liao W, Palomino RM, Rui N, Duchon T, Nemšák S, Grinter DC, Mahapatra M, Liu P, Rodriguez JA, Senanayake SD (2020) Water-promoted interfacial pathways in methane oxidation to methanol on a CeO2-Cu2O catalyst. Science 368:513–517. doi: 10.1126/science.aba5005 Liao W, Liu P (2020) Methanol Synthesis from CO2 Hydrogenation over a Potassium-Promoted CuxO/Cu(111) (x ≤ 2) Model Surface: Rationalizing the Potential of Potassium in Catalysis. ACS Catalysis 10:5723–5733. doi: 10.1021/acscatal.9b05226 Yang S-Z, Tallman KR, Liu P, Lutz DM, Zhang B, Kim SJ, Wu L, Marschilok AC, Takeuchi ES, Takeuchi KJ, Zhu Y (2020) The effects of vanadium substitution on one-dimensional tunnel structures of cryptomelane: Combined TEM and DFT study. Nano Energy 71:104571. doi: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.104571 Yao S, Lin L, Liao W, Rui N, Li N, Liu Z, Cen J, Zhang F, Li X, Song L, Betancourt De Leon L, Su D, Senanayake SD, Liu P, Ma D, Chen JG, Rodriguez JA (2019) Exploring Metal–Support Interactions To Immobilize Subnanometer Co Clusters on γ–Mo2N: A Highly Selective and Stable Catalyst for CO2 Activation. ACS Catalysis 9:9087–9097. doi: 10.1021/acscatal.9b01945 Zuo Z, Liu S, Wang Z, Liu C, Huang W, Huang J, Liu P (2018) Dry Reforming of Methane on Single-Site Ni/MgO Catalysts: Importance of Site Confinement. ACS Catalysis 8:9821–9835. doi: 10.1021/acscatal.8b02277 Kattel S, Ramírez PJ, Chen JG, Rodriguez JA, Liu P (2017) Active sites for CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol on Cu/ZnO catalysts. Science 355:1296–1299. doi: 10.1126/science.aal3573 Yao S, Zhang X, Zhou W, Gao R, Xu W, Ye Y, Lin L, Wen X, Liu P, Chen B, Crumlin E, Guo J, Zuo Z, Li W, Xie J, Lu L, Kiely CJ, Gu L, Shi C, Rodriguez JA, Ma D (2017) Atomic-layered Au clusters on α-MoC as catalysts for the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction. Science 357:389–393. doi: 10.1126/science.aah4321