University Awards
Recognising Excellence

University Research Recognition Award

My aspiration is to use the tools of chemistry to uncover how light and color emerge from matter, and to apply that understanding to create imaging and sensing technologies that solve real-world challenges—developing tools that improve diagnostics, monitor health, and uncover the invisible in both science and daily life. ” Professor Liu Xiaogang
Distinguished Professor
 
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Department of Surgery, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
 Read Citation

Research Interests

  • Nanophotonics and luminescent nanomaterials
  • Biomedical imaging and sensing
  • X-ray scintillators and optogenetic devices
  • Advanced materials chemistry for diagnostics and therapeutics

Research Achievements

  • Professor Liu is a globally recognised leader in lanthanide-based luminescent nanomaterials, with contributions that have advanced the use of upconversion nanoparticles in applications such as bioimaging and molecular sensing.
  • His research achievements include:
    • Developing lanthanide-doped nanomaterials with record-high optical nonlinearity (>500), setting a new global benchmark for photon avalanche nanophotonics
    • Contributing significantly to X-ray imaging and biomedical engineering through the development of nanoscintillators and X-ray luminescence extension imaging (Xr-LEI), addressing the limitations of conventional light microscopy
    • Introducing a pixelated colour-encoding method that enhances the depth and precision of 3D imaging, with potential implications for the way biomedical images are captured, processed and analysed
    • Devising an optical strategy to distinguish between H2O and D2O at the single-cell and single-molecule levels, enabling the first direct observation of water permeation through TRPV1 ion channels

Publication Credits

  • Authored over 260 peer-reviewed articles in top journals including Nature, Nature Photonics, Nature Materials, Science and JACS
  • Accumulated over 58,000 citations, with a Hirsch index exceeding 110

International Standing

  • Associate Editor for BMEMat, FlexMat and Research
  • Editorial board member of Nanoscale, Journal of Luminescence, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, COSMOS, Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society, Chemistry—An Asian Journal, ChemNanoMat, Advanced Optical Materials, Nanoscale Horizons, The Innovation and Nano Letters
  • Fellow of the American Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering (2024)
  • Fellow of Singapore National Academy of Science (2022)
  • External proposal reviewer for the National Science Foundation (USA), Australian Research Council, European Research Council, and other international organisations
  • Plenary speaker at multiple international conferences, including the Gordon Research Conference on Photon Upconversion and the International Conference on Luminescence (2023)

Awards and Accolades

  • Top 10 Winner, Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year [Physical Sciences] (2024)
  • Centenary Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry (2024)
  • SNIC-AsCA2019 Singapore Award for Solid State Chemistry & Materials (2023)
  • IMRE Distinguished Adjunct Fellow, A*STAR (2020)
  • NUS Outstanding Researcher Award (2017)
  • President's Science Award (2016)

Education

  • PhD (Northwestern University)
  • MS (East Carolina University)
  • BEng (Beijing Technology and Business University)
 
 Honour Roll Recipients