JCESR low-potential Sprint team (2015)
ANL group · JCESR Sprint leadership · Cross-institution collaboration
Teaching & Mentorship
Supervised postdocs, graduate students, and visiting researchers at Argonne National Laboratory (2013 – 2023). Led cross-institution JCESR Sprint teams across MIT, PNNL, UIUC, UMichigan, Purdue. Team grew from 1 postdoc to 3 postdocs + 1 student. Several mentees have moved on to faculty positions and senior roles in the battery industry.
Direct graduate students (later transitioned to postdoc roles)
5 peopleLu Zhang directly confirmed (2026-04-27). Advised or co-advised these graduate students at ANL; most later transitioned to postdoc roles (at ANL or other institutions); some moved to industry.
| # | Name | Supervision | Research thrust | Current placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhiguang Li | graduate student (co-advised by Lu Zhang and Xiaoliang Wei, Purdue) | Redoxmer techno-economics + dialkoxyarene stability for non-aqueous RFBs | private (not publicly listed) |
| 2 | Sisi Jiang | graduate student (advised by Lu Zhang at ANL) | Silicon-anode binders + Si nanoparticle surface engineering | Staff Material Engineer, Tesla (Louisville, CO) — graduated, did postdoc elsewhere (not Lu Zhang's group), then joined Tesla |
| 3 | Xiaoting Fang | graduate student (co-advised by Lu Zhang and Xiaoliang Wei, Purdue) | Multi-electron redoxmers + Wurster's Blue catholyte | ANL postdoc (NOT in Lu Zhang's group); previously Purdue ME PhD (joint training with ANL JCESR) |
| 4 | Quinton J. Meisner | graduate student (co-advised by Lu Zhang and Lei Zhu, FSU) | Li-S fluorinated ether electrolytes (FSU↔ANL cross-institution) | Staff Materials Engineer (Electrolyte team), Tesla — graduated, did postdoc, then Tesla |
| 5 | Andrea Diaz | graduate student (co-advised by Lu Zhang and Shrayesh Patel, UChicago; plastic-to-membrane LDRD) | Repurposing plastics into ion-exchange membranes for RFBs (LDRD lead author) | PhD candidate, UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (Patel group) |
Direct postdocs
8 peopleResearchers who joined Lu Zhang's group as postdocs (direct or co-advised). Many moved to industry (Tesla / GM / PNNL / ORNL) or transitioned into ANL Research Scientist roles.
| # | Name | Supervision | Research thrust | Current placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhangxing Shi | postdoc (advised by Lu Zhang at ANL) | PAA binder + HFE solvent for Li-metal/Na/Mg/S batteries | Factorial Energy, Greater Boston (battery startup) |
| 2 | Peng Du | postdoc (advised by Lu Zhang for 1 year; no co-authored papers) | Battery research training | Orbia Fluor & Energy Materials, Madison WI (battery fluorochemicals) |
| 3 | Zhongbo Zhang | postdoc (co-advised by Lu Zhang, plastic upcycling LDRD with UChicago Patel group) | Repurposing plastics into ion-exchange membranes for RFBs (during postdoc); now applying polymer expertise to IC-packaging dielectrics | Member of Technical Staff (Polymer Dielectrics Technologist), Applied Materials (Atlanta) — trajectory: UChicago PME postdoc (Patel group, co-advised by Lu Zhang) → Application Development Scientist 2022–2024 → Applied Materials 2024–present (promoted Dec 2025) |
| 4 | Jinhua Huang | postdoc (advised by Lu Zhang, ANL 2013–2018) | Catholyte molecular engineering for non-aqueous RFB | Wildcat Discovery Technologies, Greater San Diego |
| 5 | Bin Hu | postdoc (advised by Lu Zhang) | Silicon-anode binders + PAA molecular weight optimization | Tesla (Louisville, CO) — trajectory: ANL postdoc → ORNL → Tesla (verified 2026-04-27 via LinkedIn /in/hbkang) |
| 6 | Lily A. Robertson | postdoc (advised by Lu Zhang) | Self-reporting fluorescent redoxmers + crowded electrolytes | Assistant Chemist (staff scientist), Argonne National Laboratory CSE Division — 2021 Argonne Postdoc Performance Award winner |
| 7 | Yuyue Zhao | postdoc (advised by Lu Zhang) | Anolyte solvation engineering | Scientist, CNPC JICHAI POWER (Salt Lake City); previously Sr. Research Scientist at Storagenergy Technologies |
| 8 | Jingjing Zhang | postdoc (advised by Lu Zhang) | Annulated dialkoxybenzenes + ML-driven stability | Living Proof, Inc., Boston (left ANL) |
Other publication-derived collaborators
0 peopleFirst-authored papers where Lu Zhang served as corresponding author.
| # | Name | Corresp. papers | Total first |
|---|
Team members (frequent first-author co-workers)
16 people · ≥3 papersResearchers who first-authored ≥3 papers in the verified record — typically direct group members or visiting postdocs.
Jingjing Zhang · 13 first-author papers
Jinhua Huang · 12 first-author papers
Sisi Jiang · 6 first-author papers
Bin Hu · 6 first-author papers
Baofei Pan · 6 first-author papers
Xiaoliang Wei · 6 first-author papers
Zhiguang Li · 4 first-author papers
Xiaoting Fang · 4 first-author papers
Lily A. Robertson · 4 first-author papers
Yuyue Zhao · 4 first-author papers
Wentao Duan · 4 first-author papers
Juran Noh · 3 first-author papers
Sambasiva R. Bheemireddy · 3 first-author papers
Zhangxing Shi · 3 first-author papers
Ilya A. Shkrob · 3 first-author papers
Benjamin Silcox · 3 first-author papers
Group size over time
| Year | Group / leadership |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 1 postdoc |
| 2014 | 1 postdoc + 1 student |
| 2015 | 1 postdoc + visiting student · led JCESR low-potential Sprint (3 universities + 2 national labs) |
| 2016 – 2017 | 2 postdocs + 2 students · led electrolyte-optimization Sprint (UIUC + PNNL + ANL) |
| 2018 | 3 postdocs + 1 student · JCESR 2.0 sub-thrust lead |
| 2020 – 2023 | 3 postdocs + 1 student · JCESR Y3 milestone lead |
JCESR Sprint teams (cross-institution)
JCESR electrolyte-optimization Sprint team (2016 – 2017)
JCESR 2.0 redoxmer-solvation sub-thrust (2018 – 2020)
JCESR 2.0 Y3 milestone (2020)
Other teaching & invited service
Florida State University invited seminar — Organic Molecules in Batteries (2014)
ANL internal training: project management · commercial startup · safety · electrochemistry
* Direct mentee list derived from public OpenAlex records — postdocs/students who first-authored papers with Lu Zhang as corresponding author. Visiting students, interns, and external collaborators without independent first-author papers are not listed here.