Previous Institutions: Auburn University
What are you studying: Ph.D in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Mingrui (Lily) Gong was born and raised in Guilin, a small city in China known for its stunning rivers and mountain scenery, and this is why she loves about hiking and fall in love for Rice. She came to the U.S. at the age of 14 to pursue her education. She had obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Auburn University. During her time there, she developed a passion for both the research and industrial sides of chemical engineering. She is especially interested in bridging the gap between lab-scale innovation and large-scale application.
She is now pursuing her PhD in Dr. Matteo Pasquali’s lab in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University. Her research focuses on understanding the synthesis of few-walled carbon nanotubes using the floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) method. She mainly works on understanding and optimizing both the production process and the material quality to support scalable, high-performance applications.
Outside the lab, Lily enjoys a variety of hobbies! She loves watching gaming-related videos and live streams (especially horror games), reading manga and watching anime, sipping on boba, sketching, and playing the violin. She’s also a big fan of hiking—and absolutely adores cats!
Fun Fact:
I’m left-handed—so I like to think I’m in always on my right mind :D
Favorite thing about Rice:
The community and events!
Favorite thing about Houston:
The choice of food and activities.
Why did you decide to go to grad school?
I would like to contribute in bridging the gap between lab-scale innovation and large-scale applications!