Binh Khanh Mai rejoins the group as a Research Assistant Professor

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Binh Khanh Mai has rejoined the Peng Liu Group today as a Research Assistant Professor, starting August 2025. Binh is a familiar face to many of us, having previously served as a key Postdoctoral Scholar in our lab from 2019 to 2024, where his computational insights played a pivotal role in numerous high-impact projects.

Binh brings a wealth of expertise in computational organic chemistry, with a specific focus on elucidating reaction mechanisms, computer-aided catalyst design, and the application of machine learning to asymmetric catalysis.

A Distinguished Research Background

Binh received his B.S. in Chemistry from Ho Chi Minh City University of Education in Vietnam before earning his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Kyung Hee University in South Korea (2011–2016). Before his first tenure at Pitt, he conducted postdoctoral research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Stockholm University in Sweden.

Most recently, Binh was a Research Scientist in the Denmark Group at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where he focused on data-driven modeling and catalyst optimization.

Contributions and Achievements During his previous time in the Liu Group, Binh was instrumental in several major collaborations that bridged the gap between theoretical modeling and experimental synthetic chemistry. His work has been featured in top-tier journals, including Science, Nature, and JACS. Notably, he contributed to groundbreaking research on:

• Biocatalysis: Synergistic photoredox-pyridoxal radical biocatalysis for stereoselective amino acid synthesis.

• Copper Hydride Catalysis: Computational studies on ligand effects in CuH-catalyzed hydrofunctionalization reactions.

• Mechanistic Elucidation: Uncovering the origins of selectivity in complex organometallic transformations.

  
  

As a Research Assistant Professor, Binh will take on a leadership role in the group, mentoring graduate students and spearheading new research directions in computational organic chemistry and biocatalysis.

Please join us in welcoming Binh back to the group!