Meng is a materials scientist who grew up in China and studied in Singapore and the US. She works on making batteries better and cheaper.

Meng is leaving the US with mixed emotions after over 20 years. She hopes the US will support sustainable energy more in the future.

Meng said she is an internationalist and Singapore is a place where people can work together. She became a Singapore citizen in 2004.

Meng will step down as director of a US energy research group. The group gets funding of up to $62.5 million over five years.

The research group works with labs and universities to make better batteries. It was started in the final months of the Biden administration.

Shirley Meng is a top battery scientist. She is leaving the US for Singapore.

Meng said funding for her research group has not been cut. But she is not happy with the current situation in Washington.

The last 15 months have been very hard for energy storage research. Many projects have been put on hold.

Meng is worried about a request from the Pentagon. She does not want to work on projects that could harm people.

Meng does not want to work on projects like better batteries for drones. She wants to build things, not destroy them.

The Trump administration's visa rules also made Meng want to leave. Her lab could not hire a South Korean researcher because of the high cost of a visa.

Meng's research has led to many advances in battery science. Her team made a new kind of battery that is cheaper and more efficient.

Meng co-founded several battery startups and was a chief scientist at a research center. She will keep working on energy storage.

Meng will still work with her university in the US for a while. She will also lead a network she founded to help with energy transition.

Many US-based scientists with Asian roots have moved back to Asia. They are drawn by universities in Singapore, China, Japan, and South Korea.

NTU is a top-ranked university in Singapore. It was established in 1991 and has risen in the rankings.

Meng said NTU gave her a good start in science and engineering. She is honored to be a leader at the university.

NTU is now tied with another university as the highest-ranked in Singapore. Meng is happy to be back at her alma mater.