FigureAsia 35 Under 35 · Science
Jie Shen
Age 33 · Two-dimensional membranes · China / Singapore
Co-first author of a 2025 Science paper turning atomic defects in monolayer MoS₂ into selective water channels.
- Approximate age at the edition eligibility date
- 33
- Field
- Materials science
- Country or region
- China / Singapore
- FigureAsia U35 Assessment
- 85.0 / 100
Profile
Career and documented record
Jie Shen and collaborators converted what is usually treated as a crystal defect into a functional channel. In a 2025 Science paper, antiparallel grain boundaries in monolayer molybdenum disulfide formed eight-membered atomic rings that acted as molecular sieves.
In forward-osmosis experiments, the membranes combined high water–salt selectivity with strong water flux. Shen is a co-first author and now leads an independent materials programme at NTU.
Large-area fabrication, defect uniformity, fouling and long-term operation remain open. The scientific contribution is nevertheless sharp: atomically defined grain-boundary structure can be designed as the transport pathway rather than tolerated as damage.
FigureAsia selection
Why Jie Shen is on the list
Shen is selected for using atomic structure as an engineering variable in a problem of global consequence. The work links imaging, membrane physics and measured separation performance without claiming that a laboratory monolayer is already a desalination plant.
Verified work
The 2025–26 record
Atomic grain-boundary sieve
Co-first-authored a Science paper using eight-membered rings in monolayer MoS₂ as channels.
Water–salt separation
Demonstrated high selectivity and flux in forward-osmosis experiments.
Independent NTU programme
Advanced two-dimensional membrane research from an assistant professorship in Singapore.
Field context
The work in its field
Membranes trade permeability against selectivity. Atomically thin channels offer a route around that compromise only if pore structure can be controlled across useful areas.
FigureAsia U35 Assessment
Assessment breakdown
85.0out of 100
Substantive 2025–2026 contribution
16.1 / 20
Co-first-authored a Science paper using eight-membered rings in monolayer MoS₂ as channels.
Verified scientific impact
12.1 / 15
The Science result links atomic-resolution design to measured membrane performance in a globally important separation problem.
Originality and distinction
8.6 / 10
The distinction lies in using a specific grain-boundary ring as the functional molecular-sieving element.
Field influence
8.7 / 10
For Shen, field influence turns on whether this work changes the operating baseline in two-dimensional membranes; the record supports that judgement.
Individual agency
8.6 / 10
Shen is a co-first author and independent principal investigator; corresponding-author and team leadership remain credited.
Durability and trajectory
4.5 / 5
A continuing programme at Nanyang Technological University extends beyond this single result.
Asian significance and global relevance
4.5 / 5
Chinese-born scientist leading membrane materials research in Singapore.
Evidential validity and reproducibility
7 / 8
Atomic structure and osmosis measurements support the mechanism, with scale-up explicitly unresolved.
Advance in scientific knowledge
6.1 / 7
The study reframes selected two-dimensional defects as programmable transport channels.
Translational or methodological utility
4.4 / 5
The principle could guide future ultrathin membranes for water and molecular separations.
Responsible research stewardship
4.4 / 5
The profile separates laboratory transport data from industrial desalination and life-cycle claims.