Christopher Li received his B.S. from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1995 and his Ph.D. from the Department of Polymer Science, the University of Akron in December 1999. After completing his post-doc training at the Maurice Morton Institute of Polymer Science, UA, he joined Drexel University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 2002 as an assistant professor. He was promoted to full professor in 2011. His research focuses on understanding the structure-morphology-property relationship of complex soft and hybrid materials. His group is interested in various ordered polymeric systems, including crystalline, liquid crystalline, and block copolymers for energy storage and biomedical applications. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the North American Thermal Analysis Society. Christopher Li has received numerous national/international awards, including the NSF-CAREER Award, NSF Creativity Award, Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship, Mettler-Toledo Thermal Analysis Educational Award, DuPont Young Faculty Award, US AFOSR Summer Faculty Fellowship, and the inaugural Provost’s Award for Outstanding Mid-Career Scholarly Achievement at Drexel University. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of Giant, Polymer, Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, etc. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers, books, and book chapters. He has an H-index of 60 and a citation of over 13,000 based on Google Scholar. Christopher Li and his lab have received news coverage from the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society, the Materials Research Society, Physical Review Focus, the Royal Chemical Society, etc.

CYL_CV

Office: LeBow 443; 
Phone: 215.895.2083

Education

  • Ph.D. (Polymer Science) The University of Akron, Akron, OH 12/1999
    Topic: Structure and Phase Behavior of a Series of Main-Chain Chiral Liquid Crystalline Polyesters
    Advisor: Prof. Stephen Z. D. Cheng
  • B.S. (Polymer Chemistry) University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, P. R. China 06/1995
    Topic: Synthesis and Characterization of Dimers of Biphenyl Derivatives

Professional History

  • Professor
    Drexel University
    2011 – present
  • Visiting Associate Professor
    Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research
    02/2010 – 07/2010
  • Associate Professor
    Drexel University
    2007 – 2011
  • Assistant Professor
    Drexel University
    01/2002 – 2007
  • Visiting Assistant Professor
    Air Force Research Laboratory
    6/2004 – 8/2004
  • Postdoctoral Fellow
    University of Akron, Akron, OH
    1/2000 – 12/2001

Research Interests

  • Structure and morphology of polymeric and hybrid materials
  • Polymer crystal engineering for functional materials
  • Designing polymers for energy and sustainability

Honors and Awards

  • Outstanding Service Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University 2023
  • Outstanding Research Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University 2021
  • Outstanding Alumni Award, University Akron, Department of Polymer Science, 2017
  • Inaugural Provost’s Award for Outstanding Mid-Career Scholarly Achievement, 2016
  • Outstanding Research Award, College of Engineering, Drexel University, 2016
  • North American Thermal Analysis Society, President, 2016
  • North American Thermal Analysis Society, Fellow, 2014
  • Editorial advisory board member, Macromolecules, ACS Macro Lett, 2014–2017
  • Editorial advisory board member, Chinese Chemical Letter, 2014 –
  • Outstanding Service Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University 2014
  • Editorial advisory board member, Materials Research Express, 2013 –
  • American Physical Society Fellow, 2012
  • Invited Attendee, National Academy of Engineering Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, 2012
  • Outstanding Research Award, College of Engineering, Drexel University, 2012
  • International Advisory Panel, Materials Research Express, 2012 –
  • National Science Foundation Creativity Award 2011
  • Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers 2010
  • Outstanding Research Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University 2010
  • Editorial advisory board member, POLYMER, 2010–
  • Outstanding Teaching Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University 2007
  • Invited attendee, Interdisciplinary, globally leading polymer science and engineering, NSF Polymer workshop, 2007
  • NSF-CAREER Award 2003-2008
  • ASM Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers 2006
  • DuPont Young Faculty Award 2005-2007
  • Outstanding Oversea Young Scientist selected by National Science Foundation of China 2006-2009.
  • Outstanding Research Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University 2006
  • PERKIN ELMER – ICTAC (International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry) Young Scientist Award 2004
  • NRC/US (National Research Council/US) AFOSR (Air Force of Scientific Research) Summer Faculty Fellowship Award 2004
  • Mettler -Toledo Thermal Analysis Educational Turi Award 2003
  • 3-M Non -Tenured Faculty Award 2003-2005
  • The Excellence Award from the North Coast Thermal Analysis Society (NCTAS) 1999