Dr. Liu is the Director of the Energy Processes and Materials Division within Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Energy and Environment Directorate, a position he has held since March 2013. Dr. Liu possesses a strong background in materials synthesis, colloidal and surface science, and high-resolution electron microscopy. He joined PNNL in 1992, became a Laboratory Fellow in 2000, and over time has initiated and led a broad range of basic and applied research programs in materials science.

In 2001, he left PNNL for a position with Lucent Bell Laboratories, and later Sandia National Laboratories, where he served as manager of the Chemical Synthesis and Nanomaterials Department, and as a thrust leader in the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies. Dr. Liu returned to PNNL in 2005 to head the synthesis task within the catalysis initiative, and also led the Transformational Materials Science Initiative, as well as energy storage research. In addition to his division director role, he currently serves as the Cross-Science Lead on the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, a DOE Energy Innovation Hub in which PNNL is a partner.

Dr. Liu has more than 350 peer reviewed publications, has received more than 55 U.S. patents. He was named a Distinguished Inventor of Battelle in 2007 and was selected as PNNL's 2012 Inventor of the Year. He holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Hunan University, an M.S. degree in Ceramic Engineering from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, also from the University of Washington.