Hongli (Julie) Zhu
Associate Professor,
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Office
- 243 SN
- 617.373.2735
Lab
- 307 Mugar Life Science
Research Focus
All solid state batteries; Flow Batteries; Batteries fast charge; High energy density batteries; Advanced manufacturing; Sustainable biomass-derived material from Nature; Bendable, implantable, and biocompatible devices; and fundamental investigations of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, including materials–structure–performance–application correlations.
About
Dr. Hongli (Julie) Zhu is currently an associate professor at Northeastern University. Her group focuses on the research of electrochemical energy storage, biomass-derived sustainable materials, and emerging advanced manufacturing technologies. From 2012-2015, She worked at the University of Maryland as postdoctoral research associate, focusing on the research of nanocellulose and energy storage. From 2009 to 2011, she conducted research on materials science and processing of biodegradable and renewable biomaterials from natural wood at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. Her expertise is on the research of environmentally friendly biomass-derived materials, all solid-state batteries, flow batteries, design and application of cellulose nanostructured fiber, paper, and aerogel/hydrogel for multiple applications, and R2R manufacturing. In energy storage, her group at Northeastern University works intensively on all-solid-state batteries, flow batteries, and alkali metal ion batteries, such as Li+, Na+, K+ batteries. Here is her group webpage: https://coe.northeastern.edu/research/hongli_group/
Education
- Research Associate, University of Maryland, 2012-2015
- Postdoctoral Researcher, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, 2009-2011
- PhD, South China University of Technology and Western Michigan University, 2004-2009
Honors & Awards
Prof. Hongli “Julie” Zhu is internationally recognized for her high-impact contributions to sustainable materials, solid-state batteries, advanced manufacturing, and bio-derived multifunctional materials. She was named a 2025 Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, one of the most selective global distinctions for research influence. Clarivate notes that Highly Cited Researchers represent approximately 1 in 1,000 scientists and social scientists worldwide and are selected based on multiple highly cited papers ranked in the top 1% by field and year, together with quantitative metrics and expert judgment. Northeastern University also recognized Prof. Zhu among its 2025 Highly Cited Researchers, highlighting her as one of twelve Northeastern scholars whose work ranks among the top 1% of their fields.
Prof. Zhu has also been repeatedly selected for the Stanford University World’s Top 2% Scientists list from 2021 to 2025, reflecting the sustained citation impact, visibility, and influence of her scholarship across materials science, energy storage, and sustainable engineering.
Her leadership in energy storage has been further recognized by ACS Energy Letters, which featured her in its “Women Scientists at the Forefront of Energy Research” series. This recognition highlights her long-standing contributions to sulfide-based all-solid-state lithium batteries, a next-generation energy-storage platform with the potential to enable safer and higher-energy-density batteries. Her work has advanced the field from fundamental materials understanding to practical battery architecture design, including sulfide solid-electrolyte synthesis and modification, solid–solid interfacial stabilization, operando characterization, mechano-electro-chemical degradation mechanisms, silicon anode, lithium-metal and anode-free interfaces, and cell-level strategies for reliable high-energy solid-state batteries. Her broader scholarly impact has also been recognized through selection to Advanced Materials’ Women in Materials Science feature, the MRS Communications Early Career Distinguished Presenter and JMR Distinguished Invited Speaker recognition, and Northeastern University’s College of Engineering Faculty Fellow and Søren Buus Outstanding Research Award.
Teaching Interests
- Principles, Materials, and Devices for Energy Storage and Energy Harvesting
- Introduction to Materials Science
- Advanced Manufacturing Technology
- Capstone Projects
Leadership Positions
- Codirector: Advanced & Intelligent Manufacturing
- Editor: Progress in Materials Science
- Editorial Advisory Board: Chemical Society Reviews
Research Overview
All solid state batteries; Flow Batteries; Batteries fast charge; High energy density batteries; Advanced manufacturing; Sustainable biomass-derived material from Nature; Bendable, implantable, and biocompatible devices; and fundamental investigations of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, including materials–structure–performance–application correlations.
Zhu Lab’s research interests include sustainable energy storage, multifunctional materials, and advanced manufacturing. In focusing on sustainable energy storage, biodegradable materials, and manufacturing, Zhu Lab’s objective is to better address the needs of society by linking nature with people through technology. Their work has made strides in identifying sustainable natural materials to develop multifunctional materials and advanced devices for future technologies to reduce our dependence on petroleum.
https://coe.northeastern.edu/research/hongli_group/index.html
Energy M3 Intelligence Lab
Based on our research interests and expertise in manufacturing, bioresources, energy storage, and flexible device, our goal is to make energy storage safer, cheaper, and have higher performance, and to explore multifunctional materials from Nature. Meanwhile, we are interested in applying the highspeed roll-to-roll to the emerging advanced manufacturing. Our research is highly interdisciplinary, encompassing scales from the nanoscopic to macroscopic, and system level.
Selected Research Projects
- Uncovering the mechano-electro-chemo mechanism of fresh Li in sulfide based all solid-state batteries through operando studies
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Enabling Advanced Electrode Architecture through Printing Technique
- – Principal Investigator, Department of Energy
- Engineering the Metal Sulfide Interface in All Solid State Batteries through Operando Study
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Precision Alignment of Roll-to-Roll Printing of Flexible Paper Electronics Through Modeling and Virtual Sensor- Based Control
- – Co Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
Selected Publications
Check more: https://coe.northeastern.edu/research/hongli_group/publication.html
- Cao, Daxian, Zhang, Yubin, Nolan, Adelaide M., Sun, Xiao, Liu, Chao, Sheng, Jinzhi, Mo, Yifei, Wang, Yan, Zhu, Hongli (2020). Stable Thiophosphate-Based All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries through Conformally Interfacial Nanocoating. Nano Letters, 20(3),1483-1490. 10.1021/ACS.NANOLETT.9B02678
- Cao, Daxian, Sun, Xiao, Li, Qiang, Natan, Avi, Xiang, Pengyang, Zhu, Hongli (2020). Lithium Dendrite in All-Solid-State Batteries: Growth Mechanisms, Suppression Strategies, and Characterizations. Matter, 3(1),57-94. 10.1016/J.MATT.2020.03.015
- Cao, Daxian, Zhao, Yuyue, Sun, Xiao, Natan, Avi, Wang, Ying, Xiang, Pengyang, Wang, Wei, Zhu, Hongli (2020). Processing Strategies to Improve Cell-Level Energy Density of Metal Sulfide Electrolyte-Based All-Solid-State Li Metal Batteries and Beyond. ACS Energy Letters, 5(11),3468-3489. 10.1021/ACSENERGYLETT.0C01905
- Cheng, Zheng, Wei, Yuyi, Liu, Chao, Chen, Yong, Ma, Yi, Chen, Huaihao, Liang, Xianfeng, Sun, Nian X., Zhu, Hongli (2020). Lightweight and Construable Magnetic Wood for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding. Advanced Engineering Materials, 22(10),2000257. 10.1002/ADEM.202000257
- Li, Yang, Cao, Daxian, Arnold, William, Ren, Yao, Liu, Chao, Jasinski, Jacek B., Druffel, Thad, Cao, Ye, Zhu, Hongli, Wang, Hui (2020). Regulated lithium ionic flux through well-aligned channels for lithium dendrite inhibition in solid-state batteries. Energy Storage Materials, 31,344-351. 10.1016/J.ENSM.2020.06.029
- Liu, Chao, Luan, Pengcheng, Li, Qiang, Cheng, Zheng, Xiang, Pengyang, Liu, Detao, Hou, Yi, Yang, Yang, Zhu, Hongli (2020). Biopolymers Derived from Trees as Sustainable Multifunctional Materials: A Review. Advanced Materials, ,2001654. 10.1002/ADMA.202001654
- Liu, Chao, Hong, Kevin, Sun, Xiao, Natan, Avi, Luan, Pengcheng, Yang, Yang, Zhu, Hongli (2020). An ‘antifouling’ porous loofah sponge with internal microchannels as solar absorbers and water pumpers for thermal desalination. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 8(25),12323-12333. 10.1039/D0TA03872E
- Tantratian, Karnpiwat, Cao, Daxian, Abdelaziz, Ahmed, Sun, Xiao, Sheng, Jinzhi, Natan, Avi, Chen, Lei, Zhu, Hongli (2020). Stable Li Metal Anode Enabled by Space Confinement and Uniform Curvature through Lithiophilic Nanotube Arrays. Advanced Energy Materials, 10(5),1902819. 10.1002/AENM.201902819
- Wan, Liqiang, Liu, Chao, Cao, Daxian, Sun, Xiao, Zhu, Hongli (2020). High Phase Change Enthalpy Enabled by Nanocellulose Enhanced Shape Stable Boron Nitride Aerogel. ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 2(7),3001-3009. 10.1021/ACSAPM.0C00445
- Yang, Li, Yi, Ning, Zhu, Jia, Cheng, Zheng, Yin, Xinyang, Zhang, Xueyi, Zhu, Hongli, Cheng, Huanyu (2020). Novel gas sensing platform based on a stretchable laser-induced graphene pattern with self-heating capabilities. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 8(14),6487-6500. 10.1039/C9TA07855J
- Yi, Ning, Cheng, Zheng, Li, Han, Yang, Li, Zhu, Jia, Zheng, Xiaoqi, Chen, Yong, Liu, Zhendong, Zhu, Hongli, Cheng, Huanyu (2020). Stretchable, ultrasensitive, and low-temperature NO2 sensors based on MoS2@rGO nanocomposites. Materials Today Physics, 15,100265. 10.1016/J.MTPHYS.2020.100265
- D.X. Cao, Y.J. Xing, K. Tantratian, X. Wang, H.L. Zhu, et al. 3D Printed High Performance Lithium Metal Microbatteries Enabled by Nanocellulose, Advanced Materials, 31(14), 2019, 1807313
- Q. Zhang, D.X. Cao, Y. Ma, A. Natan, P. Auron, H.L. Zhu Sulfide-based Solid-state Electrolytes: Synthesis, Stabilities and Potential for All Solid-state Batteries, Advanced Materials, 2019
- H.Y. Li, Z. Cheng, Q. Zhang, A. Natan, Y. Yang, D.X. Cao, H.L. Zhu, Bacterial-Derived, Compressible, and Hierarchical Porous Carbon for High-Performance Potassium-Ion Batteries, Nano Letters, 18(11), 2018, 7407-7413
- Y. Jiao, A. Mukhopadhyay, Y. Ma, L. Yang, A.M. Hafez, H. Zhu, Ion Transport Nanotube Assembled with Vertically Aligned Metallic MoS2 for High Rate Lithium-Ion Batteries, Advanced Energy Materials, 2018, 1702779-1702787
- A.M. Hafez, J. Yucong, S. Jianjian, M. Yi, C. Daxian, L. Yuanyue, Z. Hongli, Stable Metal Anode Enabled by Porous Lithium Foam with Superior Ion Accessibility, Advanced Materials, 2018, 1802156
Jan 06, 2026
Zhu Featured in ACS Energy Letters Series Highlighting Women Scientists at the Forefront of Energy Research
MIE Associate Professor Hongli Zhu was featured in ACS Energy Letters as part of the journal’s “Women Scientists at the Forefront of Energy Research” series, which recognizes leading researchers advancing the frontiers of energy science and technology.
Nov 26, 2025
Zhu and Jain Recognized as 2025 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate
MIE Associate Professor Hongli (Julie) Zhu and BioE/COS Assistant Professor Miten Jain were named 2025 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate.
Nov 14, 2025
Advanced Battery Design Improves Power and Sulfur Utilization
MIE Associate Professor Hongli Zhu published her research on “Operando Neutron Imaging of Lithium Flux and Gradient Cathode Design for Enhanced Kinetics in High-Loading All-Solid-State Li─S Batteries” in Advanced Materials.
Sep 23, 2025
2025 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above.
Jan 31, 2025
2024 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above. The list below includes those who published a paper in 2024 or later.
Mar 12, 2024
Patent for Biodegradable Alternative to Plastic
MIE Associate Professor Hongli Zhu received a patent for “Natural fiber composites as a low-cost plastic alternative.”
Dec 12, 2023
Center for Battery Sustainability and the 2nd Workshop
Faculty, researchers, students, and industry leaders gathered at the 2nd Battery Sustainability Workshop to discuss sustainability, recycling, and more. MIE Assistant Professor Juner Zhu, along with MIT professors Martin Z. Bazant and Richard D. Braatz, founded the Center for Battery Sustainability, after participating in last year’s event.
Dec 07, 2023
2023 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above.
Sep 22, 2023
Advancing All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries
MIE Associate Professor Hongli Zhu received a $770,000 grant from the DOE Office of Science for “Uncovering the Mechano-Electro-Chemo Mechanism of Fresh Li in Sulfide Based all Solid-State Batteries Through Operando Studies”.
Dec 01, 2022
Wearable Gas Sensor for Disease Detection
MIE Associate Professor Hongli (Julie) Zhu, in collaboration with Vox Biomedical, LLC and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was awarded a $154,000 grant for biosensors.