I strongly believe that
being a researcher
requires inspiration,
imagination, a lot of
small innovations and
not settling for
mediocrity. Sometimes
it is important to
recognise the benefits of
failure in your work,
knowing that
a new opportunity is
just beginning.
”
Prof LIU Xiaogang
PhD (Northwestern University); MSc (East Carolina University);
BEng (Beijing Technology and Business University)
Department of Chemistry
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- Bioinorganic chemistry
- Materials science
- Supramolecular chemistry
- World recognised leader in lanthanide-doped nanoparticle research, which aims to develop methodologies
for synthesis and characterisation of novel optical nanomaterials and to promote their broad utility
in biomedical imaging, molecular sensing, photodynamic therapy, energy conversion and anti-counterfeiting
- Pioneered technologies for fine-tuning upconversion emission colour, realising true
full-colour volumetric 3D display, and enabling a general, scalable synthetic method for high efficiency upconversion nanocrystals with
potential applications in stem cell differentiation, optogenetics and cancer therapy
- Demonstrated photon upconversion through a new pathway – energy migration upconversion, which can be realised for a wide range of
lanthanide activators without long-lived intermediary energy states
- Experimentally verified Einstein’s prediction made in 1907 that the instantaneous Brownian
velocity is independent of particle size and shape under infinite dilution conditions
- Broad scientific knowledge
- Ability to work on long-term projects and identify gaps that are ripe for new investigation
- Consistently featured in top international journals including Nature, Nature Materials and
Nature Nanotechnology, with over 5,000 citations in the past two years
- Published more than 100 papers including 19 in Nature and its sister journals, with one paper
attracting more than 1,400 citations, as well as three book chapters
- Named among the world’s most prominent scientific minds in Clarivate Analytics' (formerly
Thomson Reuters) Highly Cited Researchers 2015 and 2016 lists, signifying high quality of research and impact
- Board member for five international journals
– Advanced Optical Materials, ChemNanoMat,
COSMOS, Nanoscale Horizon and Chemistry
– An Asian Journal
- Associate Editor for Nanoscale, Journal of
Luminescence and Science Bulletin
- Reviewer for international journals including
Nature, Nature Photonics, Nature Chemistry,
Journal of the American Chemical Society,
Angewandte Chemie and Nanomedicine
- Proposal reviewer for international agencies
including US National Science Foundation,
American Chemical Society Petroleum Research
Fund, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong,
French National Research Agency and Swiss
National Science Foundation
- President's Science Award, Singapore (2016)
- Outstanding Scientist Award, NUS Science (2014)
- Chemical Society Reviews Emerging Investigator Lectureship Award, Royal Society of Chemistry (2012)
- Young Researcher Award, NUS (2011)
"To bring the excitement of the molecular world to the public."