Zuyu Liu

I build systems that move hard technology from idea to impact.

Chemical engineer and startup operator, working where factories, frontier research, and AI meet.

B.S. Chemical EngineeringUniversity of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, IL

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

  1. Turning 1,200+ operating parameters into a factory control system

    Procter & Gamble, Tabler Station

    May – Aug 2026

    Turned operating knowledge scattered across machines, teams, and memory into one control 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: Turning 1,200+ operating parameters into a factory control system
  2. Compressing a multi-month innovation workflow into under five minutes

    Illinois Business Consulting

    Sep 2025 – Present

    Rebuilt a corporate innovation process that took months so it runs as a structured workflow in under five minutes.

    Structured process runtime, down from a multi-month workflow
    < 5 min
    Built as a running, client-ownable system
    n8n
    Separate M&A screening engagement in manufacturing
    Fortune 500
    Case study: Compressing a multi-month innovation workflow into under five minutes
  3. Screening catalyst surfaces at 73,000 CPU-hour scale

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    Sep 2024 – Present

    Screened catalyst surfaces for hydrogen fuel cell applications at a scale where the setup has to be right before the compute is worth spending.

    CPU-hours of DFT computation
    ~73,000
    aMOC surface configurations built and screened
    40+
    Computational stack for construction and calculation
    ASE / VASP
    Case study: Screening catalyst surfaces at 73,000 CPU-hour scale
  4. Building infrastructure for hundreds of student founders

    Founders: Illinois Entrepreneurs

    Dec 2024 – Present

    Built the recurring infrastructure — programming, partnerships, a matching platform — that outlasts any single cohort of student founders.

    Participants at Keywords, with Y Combinator
    400+
    Startups convened at Forge
    25+
    Investors and mentors engaged at Forge
    30+
    Case study: Building infrastructure for hundreds of student founders

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

Zuyu Liu, chemical engineer and startup operator, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree
B.S. Chemical Engineering
School
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
GPA
3.69 / 4.00
Graduation
May 2028
Location
Urbana, IL

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, not 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.

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

Let's build what comes after the prototype.