I build systems that move hard technology from idea to impact.
Chemical engineer and startup operator. I build where engineering, AI and execution meet.
B.S. Chemical EngineeringUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Impact
- Projected manufacturing savingsProjected
- $4M+
- CPU-hours of DFT computation
- 73K
- Hackathon participants convened
- 400+
- QA intern, P&G North America
- #1
Selected work
Recent systems
Procter & Gamble, Tabler StationMay – Aug 2026
Turning 1,200+ operating parameters into a factory control system
Scattered operating knowledge across machines, teams and memory, turned into one system the floor can run.
- Projected savings supported by the controlled-state roadmapProjected
- $4M+
- Machine centerlines consolidated and analysed
- 1,200+
- Annual scrap-cost reduction from the shelf-life SOP
- $300K+
- Case study: Compressing a multi-month innovation workflow into under five minutes
Compressing a multi-month innovation workflow into under five minutes
Illinois Business ConsultingSep 2025 – Present
A corporate innovation process that took months, rebuilt to run in under five minutes.
- Structured process runtime, down from a multi-month workflow
- < 5 min
- Built as a running, client-ownable system
- n8n
- Case study: Screening catalyst surfaces at 73,000 CPU-hour scale
Screening catalyst surfaces at 73,000 CPU-hour scale
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignSep 2024 – Present
Catalyst surfaces for hydrogen fuel cells, screened at a scale where the setup has to be right first.
- CPU-hours of DFT computation
- ~73,000
- aMOC surface configurations built and screened
- 40+
- Case study: Building infrastructure for hundreds of student founders
Building infrastructure for hundreds of student founders
Founders: Illinois EntrepreneursDec 2024 – Present
Programming, partnerships and a matching platform built to outlast any single cohort of founders.
- Participants at Keywords, with Y Combinator
- 400+
- Startups convened at Forge
- 25+
How I operate
One method, three layers
Select a capability to see where it shows up
Physical
Constraints that don't negotiate.
Intelligence
Turning state into decisions.
Human
Where systems actually get adopted.
Where it shows up
Background
Roles and explorations
Roles
2023 – 2024
Argonne National Laboratory
Converting science into commercial feasibility
2024 – Present
UIUC Research
Modeling materials and supply chains
2025
Credence Cleantech · LoopEra
Translating research into company direction
2025 – Present
Illinois Business Consulting
Structuring strategic and AI-enabled decisions
2026
Procter & Gamble
Deploying systems on a real manufacturing floor
2024 – Present
Founders: Illinois Entrepreneurs
Scaling teams, communities, and opportunities
Explorations
Capacitive de-ionization for biofuel separation
Argonne National LaboratorySep 2023 – Apr 2024
Stacked-electrode capacitive de-ionization design and techno-economic analysis for biofuel separation, translating lab data and 10+ studies into a feasibility report.
Polymer supply-chain Sankey analysis
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignSep 2024 – Present
Sankey mapping of high-performance polymer supply chains, identifying where sustainable BTX alternatives could create economic value.
Concentrated solar power technical direction
Credence Cleantech SolutionsApr 2025 – Aug 2025
Two technical whitepapers defining the company's concentrated solar power direction. Sourced investment leads for a $1.5M round.
Fashion-tech strategy and life-cycle analysis
LoopEraJun 2025 – Aug 2025
Planned Chicago's first Fashion Tech Summit — 210+ participants — and ran life-cycle analysis on textile fibers to position the company.
About
Zuyu Liu
I work where hard technology, AI and company building meet. The problems worth having are the messy ones that cross technical and organizational lines, where the answer has to hold up on a factory floor rather than in a deck.
Looking for industrial AI, advanced manufacturing, robotics, and energy teams where I can own problems end to end.
Open to 2027 internships and project work.
- Degree
- B.S. Chemical Engineering
- School
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- GPA
- 3.69 / 4.00
- Graduation
- May 2028
- Location
- Urbana, IL
Recognition
Y Combinator Startup School
Summer 2026 — top 5% of applicants
2026
U.S. Presidential Scholar
1 of 161 selected nationally from 3.8M U.S. high school graduates
2024
Chancellor's Scholar
Top 125 students of 8,300 in the UIUC class
2024
Contact