Congratulations to Feng Liu, Ivan B. Cutler Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, who will be named a Distinguished Professor effective July 1. He will be recognized during the university’s commencement next month.
The title of Distinguished Professor is a rare and prestigious honor granted by the University of Utah to faculty who meet the highest standards of scholarship, international stature, and dedication to teaching and service.
“I would like to thank my wife and family for their continuous support of me pursuing an academic career,” Liu said. “I would like to thank the U of U and my beloved Utes for this recognition. I would like to thank my students, postdocs and collaborators, whose brilliance and hard work have made this possible.”
Liu received his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1990. Since joining the University of Utah in the year 2000, he has developed into one of the world’s leading experts in the fields of surface science and thin films, with a current focus on low-dimensional nano, quantum, and topological materials.
He has published more than 340 research papers that have been cited more than 20,000 times, including more than 2,100 citations in 2021 alone.
Liu has graduated 17 Ph.D. students and nine master’s students and supervised 32 postdoctoral research associates. He received the Senior Humboldt Award in 2008 and was elected a fellow of American Physical Society in 2011. In addition, he was awarded the Distinguished Scholarly & Creative Research Award by University of Utah in 2019. He was named the Ivan B. Cutler Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in May 2021.
He served as Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering from 2011 to 2019 and the Divisional Associate Editor of Physical Review Letters from 2015 to 2021. He is recognized as Outstanding Referee for Physical Review journals by American Physical Society in 2021. In addition to fundamental research, Liu co-founded two start-up companies, with 10 patents issued or pending.
Liu is one of six U professors to be named Distinguished Professor this year.