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University of North Texas assistant professors Xiao Li (materials science and engineering) and Yuanxi Wang (physics) earned more than $1.3 million in total grants through the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program.

The NSF CAREER award is the most prestigious recognition for early career research faculty. It is granted to selected tenure-track faculty who haven’t earned tenure and whose scholarly products have a high impact in their discipline and/or on society. Including its most recent honorees, 24 UNT researchers have earned NSF CAREER awards to date.

Over the next five years, the recent recipients will tackle research in a variety of areas with their grants.

Li is investigating new strategies for creating chiral materials. Chirality is a geometric property of a molecule or structure that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image. It is prevalent in the human body with DNA and proteins and used in fields such as mechanical and biological engineering.

Wang is developing computer algorithms to identify defects in solid materials with physical properties suitable for quantum devices, which includes technologies ranging from quantum computers to magnetic field sensors.

“These awards will be transformative not only for advancing faculty in their careers but also in offering opportunities for our community and for students to conduct enriching research experiences within their labs,” says Pamela Padilla, UNT vice president for research and innovation and a past recipient of the NSF CAREER award.