Rate My Professor Shihong Lin

Shihong Lin is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University, having previously held the position of Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering from 2015 to 2025. He also served as Adjunct Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chancellor Faculty Fellow at Vanderbilt. Lin earned his B.E. in Environmental Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2006, M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Duke University in 2011, and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Duke University in 2012. After completing postdoctoral training at Yale University from 2013 to 2015, he joined Vanderbilt as an Assistant Professor, advancing through the ranks during his decade-long tenure there before transitioning to Rice University in January 2026.

Lin's research specializes in advancing fundamental understanding and innovative technologies for aqueous separation processes, including membrane and electrochemical separations for desalination, water treatment, brine management, resource extraction, and recovery to tackle sustainability challenges at the water-energy-food nexus. With over 150 peer-reviewed publications and more than 17,500 citations, his influential works include 'Membrane distillation at the water-energy nexus: limits, opportunities, and challenges' (Energy & Environmental Science, 2018), 'Forward osmosis: where are we now?' (Desalination, 2015), 'Nanoparticle-templated nanofiltration membranes for ultrahigh performance desalination' (Nature Communications, 2018), and 'Polyamide nanofiltration membrane with highly uniform sub-nanometre pores for sub-1 Å precision separation' (Nature Communications, 2020). Lin has received prestigious awards such as the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (2023), Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award from Vanderbilt University (2023), Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (2022 and 2025), Paul L. Busch Award from the Water Research Foundation (2020), CAPEES Early Career Award (2020), Best Paper Award from Environmental Science & Technology (2025), and Jacobs Engineering/AEESP Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award as faculty advisor (2024). He serves as Associate Editor of Environmental Science & Technology and previously directed graduate recruiting for environmental engineering at Vanderbilt. His contributions have profoundly impacted the field of environmental engineering by enabling more efficient and sustainable water technologies.