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Qizhen Li receives prestigious National
Science Foundation CAREER award
Qizhen Li, an assistant professor of chemical
and materials engineering, has been awarded a
highly competitive National Science Foundation
five-year Career Award.
The $569,120 award will allow her to develop,
study and experiment with magnesiumbased
nanoporous materials. Nanoporous
materials are a subset of nanomaterials,
which are used in the burgeoning field of
nanotechnology—the building of small and
large structures beginning at the molecular or
atomic level.
“The success of this research will allow full
advantage to be taken of nanoporous magnesium
for a variety of potential applications,
such as in energy storage, biomedical joint
replacements, and structural parts such as auto
body parts.” Li said.
Nanoporous materials, as the term suggests,
are highly porous, which provides channels for
other substances to flow through.
The prestigious NSF Faculty Early Career
Development (Career) Program Award is
given to faculty members at the beginning
of their academic careers and is one of NSF’s
most competitive awards, placing focus on
high-quality research and education activities.
As part of the project, Li will bring graduate
and undergraduate students into the project
to train them for the workforce. She will
also conduct outreach to the community to
stimulate the interest and participation of high
school students and underrepresented student
groups in science and engineering.
“With this, we can give young students access
to work in a research lab, to expose them
to this environment
with hands-on experience
and attract
them to the field of
materials engineering,”
she said.
Said Manos
Maragakis, dean
of the College of
Engineering: “This
nationally recognized
standard
Qizhen Li
of excellence is a major accomplishment
for Qizhen. We all congratulate her for this
significant step.
“An award like this speaks well for the excellence
of the faculty and the research programs
in our college,” he added. “The college and the
University are committed to providing our
young faculty the best support possible for
them to succeed, and accomplishments like
Qizhen’s make all of us particularly proud.”
—Mike Wolterbeek ’02
Photos by Theresa Danna-Douglas
University News
Discover the identities of our mystery silhouettes on the PAS website!
University of Nevada, Reno
2011-12 Performing Arts Series |
Bringing some of the
world’s finest performers to
Nightingale Concert Hall.
theater simple
September 22 and 23, 2011 • 7:30 p.m.
September 23, 2011 • 10 p.m.
Gabriel Alegria
Afro-Peruvian Sextet
October 13, 2011 • 7:30 p.m.
Mystery Science Theater presents
Cinematic Titanic
November 3, 2011 • 7:30 p.m.
The Assad Brothers
February 16, 2012 • 7:30 p.m.
Reno Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary
Special Guest Artist
April 27, 2012 • 7:30 p.m.
Season tickets on sale now! Call (775) 784-4ART | www.unr.edu/pas
Thanks to our many sponsors including the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and the City of Reno.
Nevada Silver & Blue • Summer 2011
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