Dr. Li is being honored for her work on simulating catalysts under realistic operating conditions — capturing how they truly behave while they work, rather than in an idealized, static form. Integrating electronic-structure theory, machine learning and statistical simulation into a single predictive framework, she has revealed phenomena such as oxide restructuring and amorphisation, polaron formation and migration, and the transient alloy and carbide phases that govern catalytic selectivity. Her close collaboration with experimental groups further translates these insights into the interpretation of operando measurements and the design of new materials — research that reflects exactly the kind of pioneering, early-career excellence the Clara Immerwahr Award was created to celebrate.
Dr. Li received her B.S. in Applied Chemistry from Dalian University of Technology in China in 2017. She completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Tianjin University in 2023 under the supervision of Prof. Jinlong Gong and Prof. Zhi-Jian Zhao, where she combined first-principles calculations with electrochemical experiments to understand how oxide catalysts restructure under applied potential. She then joined the group of Prof. Núria López at ICIQ, and in 2024 was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (ADAMox). Since August 2026, she has served as Scientific Group Coordinator, mentoring junior researchers. Earlier this year, she was also selected as an Invited Young Scientist for the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.
We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Li and look forward to welcoming her to Berlin in December, where she will deliver her award lecture, titled "Catalysts Move and Electrons Flow under Working Conditions."
Dr. Li's recognition arrives at a pivotal moment for the award itself. Launched in 2012 by the Excellence Cluster UniSysCat, the Clara Immerwahr Award honors the legacy of Clara Immerwahr, the first woman in Germany to earn a doctorate in physical chemistry. Over the past 14 years, the award has built an extraordinary track record: more than 80 percent of its former laureates now hold professorships or leading positions at top-tier institutions worldwide.
Following the conclusion of UniSysCat's DFG funding period, we are proud that this success story continues under the organizational leadership of the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, with generous support from the Faculty II – Mathematics and Natural Sciences of Technische Universität Berlin as a one-time contribution in 2026.
Starting this year, the award undergoes a structural evolution: it will be presented as a distinguished Named Lectureship, in joint conjunction with the renowned Gerhard Ertl Lecture. This new format creates a unique, high-profile platform bringing together world-leading senior scientists and the most promising junior talents in catalysis on a single stage. As part of this evolution, the laureate now receives a fully funded invitation to Berlin.
Commemorating the anniversary of Gerhard Ertl's Nobel Prize, the joint award ceremony — featuring Dr. Lulu Li's Clara Immerwahr Award lecture alongside the Gerhard Ertl Lecture by this year's recipient, Prof. Marc Koper of Leiden University — along with the reception, is scheduled for December 10, 2026, at Harnack House, Berlin.