Dr. Shaowei Li

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Shaowei Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Irvine, in 2017. Li's research focuses on scanning tunneling spectroscopy microscopy, ultrafast laser spectroscopy microscopy, surface dynamics kinetics, low dimensional quantum materials, and strongly correlated systems. His interdisciplinary interests extend to physical organic chemistry and macromolecular structure. Throughout his career, he has held notable positions including being a Heising-Simons Junior Fellow at UC Berkeley and a Postdoc Fellow at Northwestern University. He has received several accolades, including the Hellman Fellowship in 2022, the Early Career Award from the AVS Nanoscale Science Technology Division in 2020, and the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the OCPA in 2019.

Research Interests

Experience

Assistant Professor

— Present

University of California, San Diego • La Jolla, CA

Teaching and conducting research in chemistry and biochemistry.

Heising-Simons Junior Fellow

— Present

UC Berkeley • Berkeley, CA

Conducted interdisciplinary research in physics and chemistry.

Postdoc Fellow

— Present

Northwestern University • Evanston, IL

Engaged in advanced research in physical chemistry.

Awards

#

Hellman Fellowship

#

Early Career Award

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Outstanding Dissertation Award

#

Physical Chemistry Young Investigator Award

#

Margaret Burbidge Award

#

Chinese Government Award Outstanding Self-Finance Students Abroad

#

Regents' Fellowship

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China’s National Scholarship

Requirements for University of California, San Diego

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Total
Required:85
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Duolingo
Overall Score
Required:120
Overall
Required:120
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in physical, biological, or earth sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Differential and integral calculus. One year of calculus-based physics with laboratory. One year of chemistry with laboratory.
Application Checklist
  • Statement of Purpose (max 2 pages)
  • Unofficial transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Application fee ($135 domestic / $155 international)
Specialization Notes

Administered by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Curricular groups include Climate-Ocean-Atmosphere (COAP), Geosciences (GEO), and Ocean Biosciences (OBP).