Graduate Student Seminar
January 16, 2026
10:00 a.m. ET
CUC McConomy Auditorium
Crystalline Carbon Nitrides for Sustainable Energy Use
Building a clean and efficient energy system is essential for sustainable development and places stringent demands on advanced materials design. Crystalline carbon nitride (CCN), as a metal-free material composed of earth-abundant elements, is promising for sustainable energy conversion and storage owing to its long-range ordered framework, tunable electronic structure and high chemical stability. Compared with conventional amorphous or polymeric carbon nitrides, the crystalline nature of CCN effectively suppresses defect-induced charge recombination and enables more efficient charge transport and interfacial reaction kinetics. This talk focuses on the rational design and controlled synthesis of CCN-based materials for photo(electro)catalytic energy conversion and electrochemical energy storage applications. By tailoring crystal phase, dimensionality, defect chemistry and heterointerfaces, the structure-activity relationships governing light absorption, charge separation, surface reaction pathways and energy storage behavior are elucidated. This talk highlights perspectives and opportunities for crystalline carbon nitrides as a versatile and scalable material platform for high-efficiency new energy devices.
Li Li, Distinguished Professor in the School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, China
Prof. Li Li received his Ph.D. degree from Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in 2012 and finished his two-year postdoc work in Cornell University. Li is the Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), UK. He was awarded with the TMS Young Leader Development Award, RSC Emerging Investigator and over other 20 awards. His primary research is focused on the sustainable energy materials development for energy conversion/storage and environmental use, etc.
Upcoming Events
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February 13 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
Interfacial Fracture in Soft Polymer Networks: Revisiting Gent's Picture, presented by Gabriel Sanoja Lopez, University of Texas, Austin
CUC McConomy Auditorium
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February 20 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
High-Fidelity Atomistic Simulations of Chemistry-Microstructure Interactions in Metals, presented by Rodrigo Freitas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
CUC McConomy Auditorium
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February 25 2026
2:00 PM ET
Faculty Insights with Mario Berges
Please join us for CMU Engineering's virtual program, “Faculty Insights: A 20 Minute Briefing.” In this series, faculty will share insights into their research, its impact, and provide perspective for the future of the field.
Virtual, link provided to registrants
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February 27 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
presented by Tim Weihs, Johns Hopkins university
CUC McConomy Auditorium
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March 13 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
presented by Rachel Goldman, University of Michigan
CUC McConomy Auditorium
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March 20 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
Accelerating Battery Materials Discovery with AI- and Physics-Powered Molecular Universe Platform, presented by Yumin Zhang, SES AI
CUC McConomy Auditorium