I'm currently a postdoc working on DNA origami (what's this?) and its hybridization with plasmonic nanocrystals for materials with arbitrary optical functions. As a graduate student, I focused on the synthesis and structural modification of palladium-based nanocrystals and their catalytic applications. I love both fields, and in the future I would like to integrate my skills in colloidal synthesis and DNA nanotechnology for the development of hybrid material platforms. I am also the president of postdoc teaching opportunities program (PTOP) at UC Berkeley. We work together to create more opportunities for postdocs at UCB to get access to teaching-related resources.
Outside research, I love reading and making crafts. I recently started taking photos of birds around me. You can find that in my gallery here.
These tiny black rectangles are ~20 nm nanocubes made of a mixture of palladium and palladium hydride. I learned how to synthesize these beautiful nanocrystals with different shapes, sizes, and compositions. These features will affect their physicochemical properties and thereby their destination application. As a graduate student, I mainly focused on their applications on catalysis.
This is a gel-electrophoresis image of different gold nanocrystals wrapped by a rectangular DNA origami. The band migration indicates the mass and the charge a sample is carrying. The key concept in my postdoc research is to learn how to integrate the soft, programmable DNA origamis with inorganic materials in multiple different ways. I noticed the great opportunities hidden behind this field, and want to continue my future career on the related topics.
Recently I gave a guest lecture on DNA and polymerization, as part of the course of "Chemical and Reaction Engineering" at University of Alabama. It was a really nice experience to teach, share, and catch up with my friend.
I also participated in a few voluntary activities at different local organizations, including Women's Cancer Resource Center and Scientific Adventure for Girls.I've also been exchanging letters with young kids through "Letters to a pre-scientist" program for two years, where I share my personal research experience and demystify science to the students.
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If you have any thoughts suggestions on my research projects or website design, feel free to leave a comment here. You can also just say hi if you want : )
