Dr. Lianfa Songreceived his BS and MS degrees from Peking University, China, in 1982 and 1984, respectively. He went to the United States to study for his PhD degree in UCLA in 1990 and obtained his degree in March 1993. After two and a half years as a postdoctoral research associate at UCLA and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he worked as an assistant professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 1996 and as an associate professor in 2002 at National University of Singapore (NUS). He became an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas Tech University in September 2007 and was promoted to full professor in 2013. Dr. Song's main research interests include membrane processes, colloidal phenomena, and modeling and optimization of environmental engineering systems. In the last few years, his research has focused on reverse osmosis (RO) processes on water treatment and reclamation.

He has developed new concepts and models for the performance of full-scale RO processes in order to improve process efficiency holistically. His works in the membrane field have been well received and recognized by the membrane community. He is a member of the North American Membrane Society and the International Water Association.