MENTEE Guang Li

Guang obtained his Master’s degree in 2012 with nano-materials characterisation as his main research topic.

After moving to Australia in 2014, he has worked for several years in different roles, including research assistant, teaching assistant, sales representative and business development officer. These jobs not only strengthened Guang’s communication and interpersonal skills, but also helped him in planning for my future career.

From January 2020, he started pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in UNSW Sydney. His research is to develop triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) as self-powered sensors / wearable energy harvesters to meet the increasing demand for mobile and distributed energy solution in the era of IoTs.

For those who are not familiar with it, TENG is a hot topic in the scientific research community and it is considered a promising technology to produce electricity from low-grade mechanical energy that is usually wasted, such as vibration and friction. Specifically, he aims to develop more practical TENG by enhancing its output performance and in the meantime, to realize certain functionalities such as transparent, flexible and stretchable as needed for wearable electronics.

He has been told by quite a few senior colleagues that becoming an academic is considered the best option after getting a PhD degree in Australia, but he believes in taking advantage of what we have learned in the PhD journey and applying the knowledge to solve real-world problems is more rewarding, for himself and for society.