CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A former Clarkson University professor was killed in Chapel Hill on Monday.

Zijie Yan, an assistant professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Clarkson from 2015 to 2019, was identified as the victim in Monday’s shooting at Caudill Laboratories in arrest warrants filed in Hillsborough, N.C., where his graduate student Tailei Qi is being held on charges of first-degree murder, according to the Raleigh News and Observer.

The Clarkson community is devastated to learn of the passing of Dr. Zijie Yan. “Bill Jemison, Dean of the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering at Clarkson, said in a media release from the college. “Dr. Yan was a beloved member of our faculty and made lasting impressions on the many students and colleagues with whom he interacted. On behalf of the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering and the entire Clarkson University community, I offer our sincerest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Dr. Yan.”

Matthew E. Draper, Clarkson Vice President for Development & Alumni Relations, emailed campus community members.

“He was a brilliant scientist that our office had the pleasure of working with on several large grants, including one that we were awarded by the Keck Foundation and it has shaken our staff as we remember Zijie as both a wonderful partner and person,” Draper wrote.

Yan earned his PhD at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Materials Engineering. Before coming to Clarkson, he was a postdoctoral student at the University of Chicago.

Yan joined the UNC-Chapel Hill faculty in 2022. He ran a lab in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences with two undergraduate students, one research assistant and three PhD students, including Qi, according to the News and Observer.

RPI Materials Science & Engineering Department Head Professor Pawel Keblinskl posted a message on Facebook.

“He is remembered fondly by many of us that met him in the classroom, lab, or in the hallway,” Keblinski wrote. “Among other things, he distinguished himself with publishing 17 journal articles in the course of his Ph.D. study and continued his successful career as a postdoc at the University of Chicago and later as a faculty at Clarkson University and recently at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.”

Qi was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon on educational property, both felony charges, UNC Police told the News and Observer Tuesday.

Qi is currently being held without bail at Orange County Jail and faces possible additional charges as the investigation continues, UNC Police Chief Brian James said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

According to the News and Observer, UNC Police received a 911 call shortly after 1 p.m. Monday about shots fired at the Caudill Labs building on campus. The building is close to the center of campus and houses a chemistry department.

Upon arrival, police discovered that the professor had been shot and killed.

Clarkson University has made counseling available for faculty, staff and students.