Yi Ding received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing in 2016. He then came to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. degree at Purdue University under the guidance of Dr. Nien-Hwa Linda Wang. His dissertation research mainly involves ligand-assisted chromatography for the separation and purification of rare earth elements from complex mixtures. The clean and efficient chromatography processes for rare earth elements purification can provide the driving force for a sustainable and circular rare earths economy. His work has resulted in two patent applications, both of which are licensed to industrial companies. He defended his Ph.D. thesis in July 2021 and will work as a postdoctoral research associate in Dr. Linda Wang’s group, continuing his research on rare earth elements purification.