
Ph.D. Candidate
Email: ruiqid@seas.upenn.edu
Phone: (908) 800-1547
220 S 33rd St
Towne 347
Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Bio
Since August 2018: Begin to study as a PhD candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in University of Pennsylvania
May 2018: BS in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University
Minored in Mathematics and Statistics
Research Overview

Current Research
My first research project is centered on experimental studies of factors that affect the anchoring behaviors of discotic liquid crystal (DLC). I eventually aim at templating the anchoring behavior of DLC under the effect of different factors. My second research project is focus on fabricating the molecularly imprinted mesophase, which finally can be developed as highly selective membrane.
Project 1: Fabrication of highly selective membranes for real-world applications by self-assembled thermotropic liquid-crystalline hexagonal mesophases with pore size of ~1nm.
Project 2: Development of highly selective nanosheets by self-assembled lyotropic liquid-crystalline lamellar mesophases with a thickness of ~3nm.
Previous Research
August 2017-May 2018: Investigated effect of precipitation as an alternative to chromatography for initial purification of proteins using tangential flow microfiltration in Dr. Andrew Zydney’s lab at PSU
March 2016-July 2017: Investigated properties of the new biodegradable block-co-polymer/ Fabricated and characterized drug release of biodegradable photo-luminescent nanoparticles loaded with antitumor drugs in Dr. Jian Yang’s lab at PSU
Publications
- Rapid Fabrication by Lyotropic Self-Assembly of Thin Nanofiltration Membranes with Uniform 1 Nanometer Pores. Y. Zhang, R. Dong, U. R. Gabinet, R. Poling-Skutvik, N. K. Kim, C. Lee, O. Q. Imran, X. Feng, C. O. Osuji. ACS Nano (2021). doi:10.1021/acsnano.1c00722
- Nanocomposites of 2D-MoS2 exfoliated in thermotropic liquid crystals. U. R. Gabinet, C. Lee, R. Poling-Skutvik, D. Keane, N. K. Kim, R. Dong, Z. Vicars, Y. Cai, A. Thosar, A. Grun, S. M. Thompson, A. J. Patel, C. R. Kagan, R. J. Composto, C. O. Osuji. ACS Materials Letters (2021). doi:10.1021/acsmaterialslett.1c00222