She fell in love with Science at NTU. Now she’s back to lead it
Prof Shirley Meng left NTU in 2000 with an undergraduate degree and a passion for materials science. Today, she is back as one of the world’s foremost battery scientists and NTU’s Vice President (Industry).
Text: Feisal Abdul Rahman
Prof Shirley Meng was an undergraduate at NTU when something shifted. In an early experiment, she worked with a superconducting oxide and watched it produce magnetic levitation. It was the moment that set the course for everything that followed: a career spanning three of America’s leading research universities, a string of battery breakthroughs, three spinout companies, and an appointment as chief scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.
On 1 July 2026, she came home.
Prof Meng joined NTU as Vice President (Industry) and Distinguished University Professor, the University’s highest faculty rank. She now leads NTU’s global industry partnerships and joint research initiatives, bringing to bear a career built at the intersection of fundamental science and real-world energy challenges.
From 1 January 2027, Prof Meng will take on an expanded role as Vice President (Industry & Global Engagement), overseeing NTU’s global engagement portfolio alongside its industry efforts. This expanded role will strengthen NTU’s partnerships and collaboration across research, innovation, education and talent.
From Hangzhou to Singapore to the world
Born in Hangzhou, China, Prof Meng was selected in 1994 as one of a group of scholars to study at NTU Singapore, where she majored in materials science and engineering with a minor in business.
Her early interest was in aircraft structures and the diagnostic techniques used to detect how materials fail under stress. That instinct proved to be exactly the right preparation for a career spent diagnosing what happens inside a battery.
The superconducting oxide experiment was the turning point. Failing to secure an internship she had wanted, she joined a lab project instead. When she and a labmate poured liquid nitrogen over the material and magnetic levitation occurred, she was, in her own words, “absolutely blown away”. She has been chasing that feeling ever since.
A career built on hard questions
After NTU, Prof Meng completed a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she was pushed to think about how computational modelling could accelerate materials design. Her subsequent career has been defined by taking on problems others considered intractable.
NTU is where my passion for materials science was first sparked by a ‘simple’ magnetic levitation experiment. I am thrilled to contribute to the learning experiences of the next generation of students, helping them find their own ‘levitation moments’ and championing fundamental science for real-world impact. – Prof Shirley Meng
At the University of Chicago, she leads the Energy Technologies Initiative, aimed at accelerating the global shift away from fossil fuels. Her laboratory reported the world’s first anode-free sodium solid-state battery in 2024, pointing towards batteries that are cheaper, faster-charging, and higher-capacity than current lithium-ion technology.
She has also translated research into companies: South 8 Technologies produces lithium-ion batteries that function in temperatures from -60°C to +60°C; UNIGRID advances sodium battery technology; ExPost Technology focuses on battery recycling. Research, in Prof Meng’s hands, does not stay in the lab.
Energy as a humanitarian challenge
Prof Meng does not describe the energy storage problem simply as a science and technology challenge. She describes it as a humanitarian one, requiring scientists, engineers, policymakers, economists, and social scientists to work together toward implementation, not just discovery. That framing is precisely what her role at NTU requires.
“Energy storage is one of the defining technological challenges of our time, and she is one of the world’s foremost authorities on it,” says NTU President Prof Ho Teck Hua. “Her ability to bridge cutting-edge research with industry application makes her the ideal person to lead our industry engagement efforts.”
For Prof Meng, the return was personal as much as professional.
“NTU gave me my first degree in science and engineering, nurtured my passion and love for science, and set me up for a lifelong journey as a thought leader,” she says. “I am honoured to be entrusted with this leadership position and inspired to be part of the team to bring the University to new heights.”
For alumni watching what a degree from this university can produce, Prof Meng’s return is its own kind of proof.
This article first appeared in issue 8 of U, the NTU alumni magazine.
