Materials scientist Meng Li is a staff scientist in the Electron Microscopy group at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, which she joined last year. Li divides her time between assisting users with in situ experiments at CFN’s advanced transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) and conducting her own research. Her interests include in situ TEM studies of corrosion and catalysis and developing new microscopy instrumentation and experimental tools.
"My role at CFN mainly focuses on 'in situ' and 'operando' transmission electron microscopy," said Li. "This approach allows us to capture the atomic-scale dynamic changes of the sample in real time, and we measure the properties or reaction products to get a direct correlation between the structure and properties of the material."
Li explained that these advanced experiments require specialized sample holders or microscopes. At CFN, they have unique equipment like the Titan Environmental TEM (E-TEM) and an upcoming Nion environmental scanning TEM that allow them to introduce gases into the microscope. They also have various in situ TEM sample holders enabling different conditions such as heating, cooling, gas flow, liquid environments, electrical biasing, and mechanical testing.
"These in situ TEM experiments generate large quantities of data," Li noted. "I focus on developing hardware and software for CFN’s TEMs that can lead to a better understanding of atomic-scale mechanisms."
Li's efforts include creating sample holders incorporating micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) — tiny silicon-based devices combining mechanical and electrical components — allowing diverse study methods. She is also working on software tools using artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance data analysis from these experiments.
"I help users run their in situ TEM experiments so that they leave CFN with the data they came to gather," Li said about her support role for user scientists. "My role is to help users throughout the process so they can increase their success rate in the experiment."
Her work with users complements her research by providing practical feedback on new tools she develops during her studies on corrosion and catalysts.
"I gained a lot of experiences during my own research... I can bring my designs to user experiments," she said. "Being able to deploy my software tools during user experiments is very helpful."
Outside work, Li enjoys learning new things as a way to relax. She has multiple hobbies including painting, playing musical instruments like piano and a classic Chinese string instrument, along with taking care of her two cats.