Dr. Qilin Li is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Materials Science and Nanoengineering at Rice University. She serves as the Associate Director for Research for the NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT). Dr. Li received her B.E. degree in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her post-doctoral training at Yale University. Dr. Li’s research focuses on advanced materials and novel processes for desalination and water treatment and reuse, and sustainable urban water systems. She is a Fellow of the International Water Association (IWA) and served as the chair for the IWA Nano&Water Specialist Group Managing Committee. Dr. Li was an Associate Editor of Water Research, and is currently a co-editor of Desalination and Frontier of Environmental Science and Engineering. She was also a member of the US EPA Science Advisory Board’s Environmental Engineering Committee. She is the recipient of CAPEES/Nonova Frontier Research Award, the Rice University Hershel M. Rich Invention Award, American Water Summit Tech Idol, and Tsinghua University Pengcheng Scholar, and Rice University Roy E. Campbell Faculty Development Award.