I am investigating how matter behaves at the atomic scale using scanning probe microscopy and quantum mechanical modeling. I am currently developing a molecular computer, an optimization device based on chemical reactions. I am also endeavouring to improve science awareness and education through teaching, mentorship, and outreach.
I was born in Shanghai, China, and spent the first couple of decades of my life in Montreal, Canada. After completing an undergraduate degree in math and physics at McGill University, I pursued a PhD in chemistry in the lab of Nobel Laureate Prof. John Polanyi at the University of Toronto, followed by postdoctoral research in Prof. Alán Aspuru-Guzik’s group in Chemistry and Computer Science at the University of Toronto.
I am a strong supporter of curiosity-driven scientific research and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) education and aim to advance these causes through initiatives on and off-campus. I currently serve as a board member of Pueblo Science and Evidence for Democracy.
2015 PhD Physical Chemistry, University of Toronto; Massey College Junior Fellow
2009 BSc Joint Honours in Math and Physics, McGill University
2006 DEC Pure and Applied Sciences, Marianopolis College
Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master's
FQRNT Master's and Doctoral Scholarships
Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Excellence Award
Fluent in English and French
Intermediate in Chinese Mandarin and Shanghainese
I use scanning tunneling microscopy and ab initio quantum mechanical modeling to investigate the motions of molecules in chemical reactions at crystal surfaces. Experiment gives me snapshots of the system before and after the reaction, while theory helps me fill in the story by modeling the dynamics.
My contributions to surface science include 1) the first dynamical model for the long-range migration of adsorbates, 2) a proposal for steering reaction product separations by translation or vibration, and 3) an understanding of how charge flow in the surface governs the pattern of reaction for hydrogen halides.
Although my research is fundamental in nature, it has implications for heterogeneous catalysis, molecular electronics, self-assembly at surfaces, and many other areas of surface science.
Techniques STM, AFM, SNOM, FIB, SEM, machine shop; VASP, Gaussian (video)
I am passionate about promoting science and education in our society. I encourage people, especially students, to be curious about the natural world and to take initiative and become leaders in their communities. My initiatives and activities include:
Board Member of Evidence for Democracy, a not-for-profit organization promoting evidence-based decision-making in the Canadian government.
Board Member and Science ambassador of Pueblo Science, bringing interactive STEM workshops to low-resource schools in the world.
Sessional Lecturer for a course on thermodynamics and chemical kinetics at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
Co-founder and director of MyTrace, a digital contact-tracing mobile app developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Dissolved following the government’s adoption of the COVID alert app.)
Judge, organizer, and former participant of regional and national science fairs in Canada.
Alumna Junior Fellow at Massey College, organizer of a science policy symposium and co-chair a mentorship and tutoring program. [Watch me explain "Why we can't walk through walls (most of the time)" as part of the Junior Fellow Lecture Series.]
Director of YOUths! Leadership Development Group, a non-profit organization that delivered leadership training to Montreal high school students.
Workshop facilitator with Pueblo Science, Millennium Scholarship Discovery Program, and YOUths!