Academic Staff

Prof. Di Chen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University starting from July 2026, with a joint appointment in the Department of Chemistry. He is also a recipient of PolyU’s Presidential Young Scholars Scheme.

Prof. Chen received his bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University and his PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After two years in industry, he completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University.  In November 2019, he joined the Future Laboratory at Tsinghua University as an Associate Professor in research-track (副研究员) and established his independent research group. He was promoted to Professor in research-track (研究员) in December 2025.

Prof. Chen has published 16 patents and more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including Nature Catalysis (2020 and 2026), the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Advanced Functional Materials. He has served as principal investigator of National Key R&D Program of China (Young Scientist and International Cooperation) and a Natural Science Foundation of China grant. He has also led collaborative projects with Sinopec, Apple, Microsoft, Country Garden, and the municipal governments of Foshan and Kunshan. Postdoctoral researchers under his supervision have secured five NSFC Youth Grants and five grants from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. All seven postdoctoral researchers from his group have subsequently taken faculty positions.

• Bachelor of Engineering, Tsinghua University
• Doctor of Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology