Xiaosong Li Named College's Associate Dean for Research

Chemistry professor Xiaosong Li has been appointed associate dean for research in the University of Washington’s College of Arts and Sciences. Li, the Larry R. Dalton Endowed Chair in Chemistry, most recently served as associate vice provost for research cyberinfrastructure in the UW Office of Research. He began his new position in Arts and Sciences on July 1.

“I’m delighted to welcome Xiaosong Li into his new leadership role in the College. He brings with him considerable research and administrative experience that will be of great value to faculty across the college’s four divisions,” says Dianne Harris, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “He has the knowledge, enthusiasm, and curiosity that are essential for success in the role, and for addressing the College’s increasingly complex research needs in our richly multi-disciplinary environment.”

Internationally recognized for his work in time-dependent quantum theory and relativistic electronic structure methods, Li has a passion for collaborative research and a depth of experience in research administration. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Wayne State University in 2003, and after serving as a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University, he joined the University of Washington in 2005. In addition to his faculty position in the Department of Chemistry, he is a lab fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and serves as executive director of the National Science Foundation MRSEC Molecular Engineering Materials Center.

Li’s research has been published in 300 peer-reviewed publications, and he has developed several computational software packages. His impressive awards and honors include a Sloan Research Fellowship, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the American Chemical Society Jack Simons Award in Theoretical Physical Chemistry, and the University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award. He has been named a Fellow of the American Physics Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry and is an elected member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences.

In his new role in Arts and Sciences, Li is responsible for the strategy, operations, and implementation of the College’s research program, which in the past fiscal year totaled over $133 million in grant funding. Critical to this position is the ability to elevate the research enterprise in the College, including a focus on supporting faculty research across divisions and on grantsmanship. 

“As a longtime faculty member and researcher in the College of Arts and Sciences, I look forward to supporting and advancing the work of researchers across the College and addressing College needs related to technology and facilities,” Li says. “I’m eager to get started.”

Li succeeds Steve Majeski, who served in a similar role as the College’s associate dean for research and infrastructure since 2010. “Steve Majeski has seen the College through a period of tremendous change in the research landscape,” says Harris. “We are grateful for all he has accomplished during his 15 years in this complex leadership role.”