Aspen grew up in Guangzhou, a beautiful city in southern China. After obtaining his B.S. Degree from Fudan University in 2014, he moved to the United States to pursue his Ph.D. degree at Princeton University under the supervision of Professor Erik Sorensen. His graduate research was focused on the development of transition metal-catalyzed methods for the direct ortho C–H functionalizations of benzaldehydes . As a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Sir Fraser Stoddart, the 2016 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry, at Northwestern University, Aspen explored two areas within the broader theme of chemistry under nanoconfinement: 1) the use of γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks as robust nanoreactors for performing selective chemical reactions, and 2) the design of new radical recognition motifs for the construction of mechanically interlocked molecules and artificial molecular machines. Aspen launched his independent career as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in April 2023. He is a recipient of the HKU-100, a prestigious award granted by HKU to outstanding individuals with potential for scientific and scholarly breakthroughs.