YU LEI

            Assistant Professor and P.E
            Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Engineering Department
            University of Connecticut
            191 Auditorium Road, Unit 3222
            Storrs, CT  06269-3222
            Ph: (860) 486-4554
            Fax: (860) 486-2959
            Email: ylei@engr.uconn.edu
           

                                                Editorial Board: Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Open position 1: Graduate student in high temperature nanostructured materials for high temperature GAS sensing!

OPEN POSITION 2: GRADUATE STUDENT WITH HAND-ON RECOMBINANT DNA TECHNOLOGY SKILLS!

Open position 3: Graduate student in Nanofabrication and Microfabrication of devices (such as Interdigitated electrodes and microfluidic channel) and the application in biosensing!

EDUCATION

Ph.D.   Chemical & Environmental Engineering, University of California-Riverside

M.S.    Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, China

B.S.     Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, China

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Assistant Professor, Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Engineering Department, University of Connecticut, Aug. 2006-present

Assistant Professor, Division of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Center of Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Dec. 2004-Aug. 2006

RESEARCH FOCUS

Biosensor/Bioanalysis/Nanosensor (NSF CMMI, NSF ENVE, USGS, DHS, NSF MRI)

High Temperature Nanomaterials and Sensing (DOE)

Bionanotechnology (NSF CMMI, NSF ENVE, DHS)

Nanofibers (UConn Start-up,)

Environmental Biotechnology (UConn Large Research Grant)

Biocatalyst (UConn Start-up)

GUEST EDITOR FOR JOURNAL

          International Journal of Nanotechnology - Special Issue on Nanotechnology in Singapore. Volume 4, Issue 4, 2007

    Guest Editors: XW Sun, ZL Dong and Yu Lei

REVIEW PANEL

          NIH 2007, EPA 2007, 2009, NSF CAREER PANEL 2008, Georgian  National Science Foundation 2008

TECHNICAL EXPERT PANEL

          The Environmental and Water Industry Development Council (EWI), Singapore 2006-2007

PUBLICATIONS

W.Z. Jia, Y. Wang, J. Basu, T. Strout, C. B. Carter, A. Gokirmak, Yu Lei, Nanoengineered transparent, free-standing and conductive nanofibrous membranes. 2009. Journal of Physical Chemistry C. Accepted.

L. Su, W.Z. Jia, A. Schempf, Y. Lei, Palladium/Titanium Dioxide Nanofibers for Electrooxidation of Glycerol in Alkaline Medium. 2009. Electrochemistry Communications. Accepted.

W.Z. Jia, L. Su, Y. Ding, A. Schempf, Y. Wang, Y. Lei, Pd/TiO2 nanofibrous membrane and its application in hydrogen sensing. 2009. Journal of Physical Chemistry C. In press.

L. Su, W.Z. Jia, A. Schempf, Y. Ding, Yu Lei, Free-standing Palladium/polyamide 6 Nanofibers for Electrooxidation of Alcohols in Alkaline Medium. 2009. Journal of Physical Chemistry C. In press.

Y. Wang, W.Z. Jia, T. Strout, Y. Ding, Y. Lei, Preparation, characterization and sensitive gas sensing of conductive core-sheath TiO2-PEDOT Nanocables. 2009. Sensors, 9, pp. 6752-6763.

Y. Wang, W.Z. Jia, T. Strout, A. Schempf, H. Zhang, B.K. Li, J.H. Cui,Y. Lei, Ammonia gas sensor using polypyrrole-coated TiO2/ZnO nanofibers. 2009. Electroanalysis, 21(12), pp.1432-1438.

F.X. Li, Y. Sharma, Yu Lei, B.K. Li, Q.X. Zhou. Microbial Fuel Cells: The Effects of Configurations, Electrolyte Solutions, and Electrode Materials on Power Generation. 2009. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. DOI 10.1007/s12010-008-8516-5.

D.Q. Jiang, B.K. Li, W.Z. Jia, Yu Lei. Effect of Inoculum Types on Bacterial Adhesion and Power Production in Microbial Fuel Cells. 2009. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. DOI 10.1007/s12010-009-8541-z.

W.Z. Jia, E. Reitz, P. Shimpi, E.G. Rodriguez, P.X. Gao, Yu Lei, Spherical CuO synthesized by a simple hydrothermal reaction: Concentration-dependent size and its electrocatalytic application. 2009. Materials Research Bulletin, 44(8), pp. 1681-1686.

W.Z. Jia, E. Reitz, H. Sun, B.K. Li, H. Zhang, Yu Lei, From Cu-2(OH)(3)Cl to nanostructured sisal-like Cu(OH)(2) and CuO: Synthesis and characterization. 2009. Journal of Applied Physics, 105(6) 064917.

W.Z. Jia, M. Guo, Z. Zheng, T. Yu, E.G. Rodriguez, Y. Wang, Yu Lei, Electrocatalytic oxidation and reduction of H2O2 on vertically aligned Co3O4 nanowalls electrode: Toward H2O2 detection. 2009 Journal Of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 625(1) pp. 27-32.

W.Z. Jia, E. Reitz, H. Sun, H. Zhang, Yu Lei, Synthesis and characterization of novel nanostructured fishbone-like Cu(OH)(2) and CuO from Cu4SO4(OH)(6). 2009. Materials Letters, 63(5) pp. 519-522.

E. Reitz, W.Z. Jia, M. Gentile, Y. Wang, Yu Lei, CuO nanospheres based nonenzymatic glucose sensor. 2008. Electroanalysis, 20(22) pp. 2482-2486.

W.Z. Jia, M. Guo, Z. Zheng, T. Yu, Y. Wang, E.G. Rodriguez, Yu Lei, Vertically aligned CuO nanowires based electrode for amperometric detection of hydrogen peroxide. 2008. Electroanalysis 20(19) pp. 2153-2157.

N. Y. Liu, X. P. Cai, Q. Zhang, Yu Lei, M. Chan, Real-time nitrophenol detection using single-walled carbon nanotube sensors, 2008. Electroanalysis, Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 558-562, 2008.

Wang J.X., Sun X.W.; Cai X.P.; Yu Lei; Song L., and Xie S.S. Nonenzymatic glucose sensor using freestanding single-walled carbon nanotube films. 2007. Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters. 10 (5): J58-J60.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., and Mulchandani A. Biosensor for direct determination of fenitrothion and EPN using recombinant Pseudomonas putida JS444 with surface expressed organophosphorus hydrolase. 2. Modified carbon paste electrode. 2007. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. 136 (3): 243-250.

Cai X.P., Liu N.Y., Yu Lei, Zhang Q., Chan Mary B., Li C.M., Chen W., and Mulchandani A. Single-walled carbon nanotube based real-time organophosphate detector. 2007. Electroanalysis. 19: 616-619.

Wei A., Sun X.W., Wang J.X., Yu Lei, Cai X.P., Li C.M., Dong Z.L., Enzymatic glucose biosensor based on ZnO nanorods grown by hydrothermal decomposition. 2006. Appl. Phys. Lett. 89: 123902. (Featured in Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology)

Wang, J.X., Sun, X.W., Wei, A., Yu Lei, Cai, X.P., Li, C.M., Dong, Z.L. Zinc oxide nanocomb biosensor for glucose detection. 2006. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88 (23): 233106. (Featured in Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology)

Yu Lei, Chen W., and Mulchandani A. Microbial biosensors. 2006. Analytica Chimica Acta. 568 (1-2), 200-210.

Wanekaya AK, Yu Lei, Bekyarova E, Chen W, Haddon R, Mulchandani A, Myung NV. Fabrication and properties of conducting polypyrrole/SWNT-PABS composite films and nanotubes. 2006. Electroanalysis, 18 (11): 1047-1054.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Mulchadnai A. Biosensor for Direct Determination of Fenitrothion and EPN Using Recombinant Pseudomonas putida JS444 with Surface Expressed Organophosphorus Hydrolase. 1. Modified Clark Oxygen Electrode. 2006. Sensors 6 (4), 466-472.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Joseph Wang, Mulchandani A. Direct determination of p-nitrophenyl substituent organophosphorus nerve agents using a recombinant Pseudomonas putida JS444-modified Clark oxygen electrode. 2005. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53 (3): 524-527.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Mulchandani A., Chen W. Improved degradation of organophosphorus nerve agents and p-nitrophenol by Pseudomonas putida JS 444 with surface-expressed organophosphorus hydrolase. 2005. Biotechnology Progress, 21 (3): 678-681.

Mulchandani P., Carlos M. Hangarter, Yu Lei, Chen W., Mulchandani A. Amperometric microbial biosensor for p-nitrophenol using Moraxella sp.-modified carbon paste electrode. 2005Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 21, 525-527.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Wang J., Chen W., Mulchandani A. Highly sensitive and selective amperometric microbial biosensor for direct determination of p-nitrophenyl-substituted organophosphate nerve agents. 2005. Environ. Sci. Tech. 39 (22), 8853-8857.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Joseph Wang, Mulchandani A. Whole cell-Enzyme hybrid amperometric biosensor for direct determination organophosphorous nerve agents. 2004. Biotechnology and Bioengineering 85 (7), 706-713.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Joseph Wang, Mulchandani A. Arthrobacter sp. JS 443-based Whole Cell Amperometric Biosensor for p-nitrophenol. 2004. Electroanalysis, 16 (24): 2030-2034.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Joseph Wang, Mulchandani A. A Microbial biosensor for p-nitrophenol using Arthrobacter sp. 2003. Electroanalysis, 15 (14): 1160-1164.

Mulchandani P., Yu Lei, Chen W., Joseph Wang, Mulchandani A. Microbial biosensor for p-nitrophenol using Moraxella sp. 2002. Analytica Chimica Acta, 470 (1): 79-86.

 

CONFERENCE AND INVITED PRESENTATIONS

W. Z. Jia, E. T. Reitz and Yu Lei.  Biosensor for heavy metals using hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods and metal binding peptides. Nanotech 2007 Conference Technical Proceedings, Santa Clara, California, May 20-24, 2007. Vol 2, Ch 6, pages 508-510.

Wenzhao Jia, Yu Lei. Novel large-scale production of genetically engineered elastin-like-biopolymer and endotoxin-binding peptide fusion for neutralization of endotoxin. American Chemical Society 2007

Yu Lei, Ningyi Liu, Xianpeng Cai, Qing Zhang, Mary Chan. Real-time nitrophenol detection using single-walled carbon nanotube sensors. American Chemical Society 2007

Yu Lei. Bioremediation and Biosensors. Bowling Green State University, OH. 2007

Wenzhao Jia, Eliot T Reitz and Yu Lei.  Biosensor for heavy metals using hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorod and metal-binding peptide. NSTI Nanotech 2007

Yu Lei, Liu N.Y., Cai X.P., Zhang Q., Li C.M. and Mary Chan, Wilfred Chen, Ashok Mulchandani. Real-time detection of organophosphorus pesticides using carbon nanotube-based, field-effect transistor. American Chemical Society 2007

Yu Lei, Jian-Shan Ye, Fwu-Shan Sheu, Wei De Zhang, Wilfred Chen, Ashok Mulchandani. Determination of organophosphorus nerve agents using vertically-aligned MWNT and organophosphorus hydrolase. American Chemical Society 2006

Xianpeng Cai, Ang Wei, Xiaowei Sun and Yu Lei. Biosensor for organophosphorus pesticides using hydrothermally grown ZnO nanotubes and organophosphorus hydrolase. American Chemical Society 2006

Ashok Mulchandani, Wilfred Chen, Yu Lei, Priti Mulchandani. Direct determination of organophosphorus nerve agents using genetically engineered Pseudomonas putida JS444 with surface-expressed organophosphorus hydrolase-modified carbon paste electrode. American Chemical Society 2005

Rohini Produtur, Yu Lei, Wilfred Chen, Marc Deshusses, Ashok Mulchandani. Simultaneous degradation of organophosphorus compounds and p-nitrophenol using immobilized Pseudomonas putida JS444 with surface-expressed organophosphorus hydrolase. American Chemical Society 2005

Mulchandani A., Chen W., Yu Lei, Mulchandani P. Direct determination of organophosphorus nerve agents using genetically engineered Pseudomonas putida JS 444 with surface-expressed organophosphorus hydrolase-modified carbon paste electrode. American Chemical Society 2005

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Wang J., Mulchandani A. Microbial amperometric biosensor for organophosphorus nerve agents with p-nitrophenyl substituent. Pittcon 2004.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Wang J., Mulchandani A. Whole cell amperometric biosensor for organophosphorus nerve agents. American Chemical Society 2004.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Wang J., Mulchandani A. Whole cell-Enzyme hybrid amperometric biosensor for Organophosphorous nerve agents, American Chemical Society 2003.

Yu Lei, Mulchandani P., Chen W., Mulchandani A. Biosensors for direct determination of organophosphorous nerve agents, American Institute of Chemical Engineers 2003.

Mulchandani P., Yu Lei, Chen W., Mulchandani A. Amperometric whole cell biosensor for p-nitrophenol, The 7th World Congress on Biosensors 2002.

Mulchandani P., Yu Lei, Chen W., Mulchandani A. Whole cell biosensor for Determination of p-nitrophenol and Organophosphate pesticides, American Institute of Chemical Engineers 2001.

REVIEWER FOR INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS

        ACS Nano, Langmuir, Talanta, Nanotechnology, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Biomacromolecules, Journal of Applied Electrochemistry

          Environmental Science and Technology, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Electroanalysis, Analytical Chemistry,

          Sensors & Actuators: B. Chemical, Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Nanotechnology, Analytica Chimica Acta,

         Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Biochemical Engineering Journal, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Sensor Letters,

         Journal of Biomedical Materials research: Part A, Chemistry of Materials, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Materials Research Bulletins, Carbon

AWARDS AND GRANTS

NSF Grant

DHS Grant

DOE Grant

USGS Grant

UConn Large Research Grant

NanoCluster/NTU seed fund 2005

University of California-Riverside Graduate Research Award 2004

University of California-Riverside Dissertation Research Grant 2004

University of California-Riverside Mini-Travel Grant 2003, 2004

The Best Presentation of the Third Annual Graduate Student Seminar, Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California-Riverside 2003

Distinguished Chancellor Fellowship, University of California-Riverside 2000-2002

Excellent Graduate Student of Sichuan Province, China 1996

Guanghua scholarship, China 1993-1996

Undergraduate Scholarships, China 1990-1993

 MEMBERSHIPS

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AIChE