Dr. Li Jia is a Professor of Polymer Science and Chemistry at the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron. He earned his B.S. from Lanzhou University and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Northwestern University, followed by postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley. Before joining UA in 2007, he served as an assistant professor at Lehigh University and senior scientist at Rohm and Haas. Promoted to full professor in 2019, his research focuses on transition metal-catalyzed polymerization, rubber vulcanization/reinforcement, plastic & rubber recycling, aerospace polyimides and polymer self-assembly. He has received prestigious honors including NSF CAREER Award, DuPont Young Investigator Award and 2023 George Stafford Whitby Award from ACS Rubber Division. He currently works as associate editor of Rubber Chemistry and Technology, and maintains extensive academic collaborations with research institutes across China.