Kurt Liu grew up in Beijing, China. He completed his undergraduate degree at The University of British Columbia, Canada where he received a B.A.Sc. in Materials Engineering. During his undergraduate career, Kurt worked on electrochemical deposition and corrosion analysis of alloys.

Currently, as a graduate student in the Mallouk group, Kurt focuses his research on the synthesis process of novel layered transition-metal carbides (MXenes) and their precursor MAX phases.

Outside of the research lab, Kurt enjoys watching movies, playing badminton, and biking.