Ph.D. (1988)         Solid State Physics, Magdalene College and Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.

B.Sc. (1983)          First Class Honors in Physics, Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, U. K.

2008-                    Professor of Nanophysics and Electron Microscopy, Department of Physics, University of York, York, U.K.

2001-2007             Cheung Kong Professor of Materials Physics and Chemistry (by a special appointment of Education Ministry), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

1995-2001:            EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow and Fellow of Robinson College, University of Cambridge, U.K.

1997-1998:            Senior Visiting Fellow, Japan Fine Ceramics Center, Nagoya, Japan. (One year leave from EPSRC Advanced Fellowship)

1994:                    Nuclear Electric Research Fellow, Robinson College, University of Cambridge, U.K.

1988-1993:            Research Associate at the Interdisciplinary Research Center in Superconductivity, University of Cambridge, U.K.

Nanophsycis:  understanding the atomic structure, physical properties of nanomaterials, nanosystems and develop the application of the related nanotechnology and their characterization techniques.

Electron Microscopy: development of advanced electron microscopy and related electron energy loss spectroscopy; physics of novel electron vortex beams and their applications in nanoscience and materials science