Hemali Rathnayake is a full Professor in the Department of Nanoscience at University of North Carolina Greensboro. She obtained her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka and her Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass). Her previous research has significantly contributed for the development of organic light emitting diodes and flat panel displays. Dr. Rathnayake’s work has been published in highly rated peer-reviewed journals such as ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Physical Chemistry Letters, Nanoscale, Macromolecules, Chemistry of Materials, and Nanoscale. She has given more than 80 invited talks to scientific and non-scientific communities, including pitch presentations at TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo. Dr. Rathnayake’s current research focuses on producing novel nanomaterials, and their potential applicability for environmental sustainability, critical mineral reclamation, energy harvesting, conversion, and storage. The most exciting research conducted in recent years was developing environmentally benign nanomaterials for critical mineral recovery, desalination, and water purification. Among three granted international patents and one provisional patent, her invention on the point-of-use direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to recover lithium from water resources has spurred a UNCG spin-off company, Minerva Lithium. She is a co-founder and chief scientific advisor for Minerva Lithium and has received enormous recognitions and press releases all around the world, including receiving the winner of Disrupt TechCrunch 2022, Defense TechConnect Innovation awards in 2021 and 2022, and NSF SBIR Phase I award. Her research has received over $10 million in funding up to date from National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, NASA, Department of Agriculture, NC Collaboratory, and NC Innovation. Up to date, she has mentored more than forty undergraduates, 13 M.S. and 9 Ph.D. students, and fifteen high school juniors (from Gatton Academy) in her materials science research program. Currently, she mentors two postdoctoral research associates, 5 Ph.D. students, two undergraduates, and two UNCG Middle College high school students. Her accomplishments has recognized by awarding UNCG Junior Research Excellence Award in 2022 for her scholarships and creative research activities.