Chunqing Liu
Chunqing Liu
 

Chunqing Liu

R&D Sr. Fellow and Sr. Manager @ Honeywell
IL

I am a passionate engineer and inventor for the development of breakthrough polymer and membrane technologies for clean energy transition and sustainability.

What I Do

I am currently the R&D Sr. Fellow and Sr. Manager of Green H2 Growth Vector Group. I am leading a multi-disciplinary research group for the development of breakthrough water electrolysis technologies to produce green hydrogen from water.

Why STEM?

The best I like about my current work at UOP is the innovative and dynamic R&D environment that promotes technology innovation. Inventing, synthesizing, and commercializing new materials and membranes for energy transition is fun and most rewarding to me. 

School Days

I received my PhD degree in Polymer Science and Engineering from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in US. 

My Day At Work

My day at Honeywell UOP involves leading and managing a group of engineers and scientists in the fields of membrane technology, electrochemistry, catalysis, and materials science for the development of innovative technologies for separations and reactions; designing and conducting lab experiments to prove new ideas ad new concepts; interacting and collaborating with other R&D groups, business, marketing, sales support, technical support, and commercialization teams.

Best Part

The best part I like as an engineer at Honeywell UOP is the innovative and dynamic R&D environment that promotes technology innovation. Inventing new materials and new membranes and supporting their commercialization for industrial applications is fun and most rewarding to me. 

Proud Moments

I am proud of the commercialization of a number of new Honeywell UOP SeparexTM membranes for CO2 and H2S removal from natural gas from my inventions. Today, we have more than 120 membrane systems in operation around the world. I am also proud of our breakthrough development of non-perfluoroalkyl substance (PFSA)-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) and anion exchange membrane (AEM) that outperform current state-of-the-art PEMs and AEMs for water electrolysis for green H2 production.

Challenges

Balancing my engineering research career and life had been a big challenge for me for at least five years since my husband developed advanced colon cancer. I did not give up my career and learned how to balance my work and life during that tough time. I continued to advance my career, my husband survived from the fatal disease, and became a mom of a lovely girl.

My Family

I have a lovely daughter of 16 in high school and my husband who is also an engineer. 

Dreams and Goals

My short-term goal is to commercialize our breakthrough catalyst-coated membrane technology to support the energy transition and net-zero global initiative. My long-term goal is to initiate and develop more disruptive technologies and innovative engineering solutions to decarbonize the world.

Inspirations

My two graduate advisors and two postdoc advisors have inspired me throughout my engineer career. I have always had the greatest advisors who all have been very successful in their own research career both in China and here in US. They inspired me the most.

My Advice

Going beyond the classrooms, exploring STEM opportunities and finding your passionate areas will help you to pursue a future technical career.

Hobbies

I enjoy cooking, running, biking, and reading books.

Volunteer Opportunities

I am willing to be interviewed by interested students via email.
Engineering Careers

Engineering Careers

Materials Engineers

Areas Of Interest

Energy Materials

Discovering Optional Career

The biggest obstacle I experienced as a material scientist was taking on the role of an engineer during my first three months at Honeywell UOP. My first task at UOP was not to design and synthesize new materials, as I expected, but to design and set up a new gas separation membrane permeation testing unit that could achieve a very high vacuum without leaking. However, at the time, I had very limited knowledge and experience in testing plant design. I overcame this obstacle by reading extensive articles and books in this field, analyzing the existing membrane testing unit designs in the literature, and actively learning from several experienced testing plant design engineers at UOP, whom I asked for advice and suggestions for my P&ID drafts. This unique experience prepared me to take on the roles of a material scientist and an engineer to overcome many new research challenges over my long career at UOP. Being positive and open-minded, being a good learner, being passionate about your work, and being ready to take risks, accept failure, and make changes will help you to overcome the challenges in your technical career. Going beyond the classrooms and exploring more internship and research opportunities during high school and college time will help you to pursue a technical career.

Companies Mitigate Challenges

It would be very helpful for companies or organizations to implement some coaching/mentoring programs, particularly in their focused technology areas, that can help young individuals to mitigate the challenges in their early technical careers.

STEM Learning Opportunities

Public university

Undergraduate Certification

A Bachelor’s Degree

Undergraduate Field

Engineering, Science

Associate Bachelor Major

Polymer Science and Engineering

Graduate Degrees

Doctorate or Ph.D.

Graduate Field

Science

Professional Certifications

Six Sigma Green or Black Belt

Previous Role Employed

Manager, Scientist, Technologist