Who is Tailei Qi? PhD student arrested in connection with the UNC-Chapel Hill shooting

Professor Zijie Yan was named as the faculty casualty in Monday’s tragic shooting on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. According to a university website, he was suspected of being Tailei Qi’s academic adviser.

Yan worked as an associate professor at the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, where he specialized in nanotechnology.

Qi, a second-year Ph.D. student who was arrested following the incident on Monday, has been collaborating with Yan’s research group at UNC since early 2022. According to police, the event occurred at a lab on campus.

In recent years, Yan and Qi have co-authored works on the influence of light on nanoparticles.

Who is Tailei Qi?

Yan was an associate professor in the department of applied physical sciences, where he focused on nanoscience technology.

Qi, a second-year doctoral student who was taken into custody after Monday’s shooting, worked closely with Yan’s research group at UNC since early 2022. Police said the incident happened in a lab on campus.

PhD student arrested in connection with the UNC-Chapel Hill shooting

Authorities charged a University of North Carolina graduate student Tuesday with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his faculty advisor, in an attack that caused a campus lockdown while police searched for the gunman.

Tailei Qi, 34, was due in court later Tuesday for an initial hearing in the Monday killing of Zijie Yan inside a science building on the Chapel Hill campus.

In addition to the murder count, he is charged with having a 9mm handgun on educational property, according to a warrant for his arrest.