Before joining in UWM, Dr. Niu worked as a Postdoc Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2011 to 2014. He also did interdisciplinary research as a Postdoc Associate at the Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) from 2009 to 2011. Dr. Niu’s interdisciplinary research includes understanding fundamental science in physics/chemistry/mechanics, and engineering nanomaterials in applications of energy storage, energy-water nexus and biomedicine. The areas include but not limited to: