About me

I am currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of Prof. Diwakar Shukla. Prior to this, I obtained my Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from Tianjin University.

My research lies at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Computational Chemistry, using Machine Learning (ML) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) Simulations to investigate complex chemical and biological processes, including peptide drug discovery, peptide-protein interactions, de novo protein, peptide, and ligand design.

News

• [May. 2024] I passed the Preliminary Exam and became a Ph.D. Candidate!
• [Feb. 2024] Our invited review paper about machine learning for peptide–protein interaction prediction was accepted to RSC Chemical Biology.
• [Jul. 2023] Our PFAS research was highlighted by National Science Foundation (NSF)!
• [Mar. 2023] Our PFAS research was reported by 7 news including Phys.org and CHBE department!
• [Mar. 2023] Our paper about remediation of “forever chemicals” PFAS is accepted to Journal of the American Chemical Society (IF=14.4) and selected for the cover!
• [Nov. 2022] A photo of me teaching high school students in the lab during the CURIE summer camp was featured on the cover of the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of CHBE Mass Transfer Magazine.
• [Aug. 2022] I passed the Qualifying Exam!
• [Aug. 2021] I joined Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Education

• Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineerin at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Aug 2021 - May 2026 (Expected)
• Bachelor & Master of Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology at Tianjin University, Aug 2014 - Jun 2021

Publications [Google Scholar][ORCID]

Courses

• CS 446 Machine Learning, Fall 2023
• CS 519 Scientific Visualization, Summer 2023
• CS 466 Bioinformatics, Spring 2022
• CHBE 525 Statistical Thermodynamics, Fall 2021

Teaching

• Teaching Assistant, CHBE 413 Data Science for Chemistry and Engineering, Fall 2024
• Teaching Assistant, CHBE 430 Unit Operations Laboratory, Spring 2024
• Teaching Assistant (Excellent Teacher), CHBE 440 Process Control and Dynamics, Fall 2022
• Lab Assistant, Chemical Engineering Camp CURIE: Catalyzing UR Interest in chemical Engineering, 2022-2024

Awards

• A. T. Widiger Chemical Engineering Fellowship, Summer 2024
• Samuel W. Parr Fellowship, Fall 2021 - Spring 2024

Contact

Address: 600 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801
Office Location: Roger Adams Laboratory 201
Email: songyin2 (at) illinois.edu