The process of discovering and designing new chemicals has always been arduous — Sijia Dong wants to change that.

As an assistant professor in the department of chemistry and chemical biology, with affiliations in physics and chemical engineering, Dong uses “physics-based simulations, AI and quantum computing” to accelerate chemical discovery.

When we think of chemistry, we may think of liquids in test tubes and under microscopes, but chemicals, too, are composed of subatomic particles like electrons and protons, a fact that Dong and her research team take advantage of in their study of enzymes — proteins that help one chemical transform into another.

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Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University