We're thrilled to announce that Professor Peng Liu has been honored with the 2025 Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring by the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences! This prestigious award celebrates faculty who demonstrate outstanding commitment and effectiveness in mentoring graduate students and fostering a supportive environment for research and professional development.
Since joining the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Chemistry in 2014, Professor Liu has made significant contributions to both research and education. He has successfully mentored 12 former PhD students and 11 current graduate students, in addition to guiding 8 postdoctoral scholars, 14 visiting students and scholars, and 32 undergraduate students in their research experiences. His students have gone on to achieve significant accomplishments, including fellowships and awards from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP), the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program, Merck Research Award, and the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute. Graduates from his group have secured prominent positions in both academia and industry, such as tenure-track positions at Baylor University and Brac University, and industrial positions at Merck & Co., PPG Industries, and Blueprint Medicines.
The Department of Chemistry extends its warmest congratulations to Professor Liu on this well-deserved recognition! His commitment to fostering the next generation of chemists is truly inspiring.
Prof. Peng Liu (left) and Yu Zhang celebrating Yu’s PhD defense. Yu is the 12th PhD student from the Liu group.
