Research Focus

Development of Novel Catalytic Materials and Reaction Engineering for the Conversion of Fossil and Biomass Feedstocks to Fuels and Chemicals.

Dr. Wang joined PNNL in 1994 and was promoted to Laboratory Fellow in 2005. He led the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Team from 2000 to 2007, and has served as the Associate Director of the Institute for Integrated Catalysis since 2008. In 2009, Dr. Wang assumed a joint position at Washington State University and PNNL. In this unique position, he continues to be a Laboratory Fellow and associate director of IIC at PNNL and is the Voiland Distinguished Professor in Chemical Engineering at WSU, an endowed, full professorship with tenure.

Dr. Wang is best known for his leadership in the development of novel catalytic materials and reaction engineering to address the issues related to energy and atom efficiency for converting fossil and biomass feedstocks to fuels and chemicals. Dr. Wang has authored >215 peer reviewed publications and more than 13,000 citations (Google Scholar Citations). He has co-edited two books and six special journal issues, and given more than 120 invited presentations since 2001. He is the inventor on 251 issued patents including 97 issued U.S. patents (>90% of his patents are licensed to industries).

His discoveries in microchannel reaction technologies led to the formation of Velocys, trading under the London Stock Exchange (VLS). He was recently elected to the fellow of National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the member of the Washington State Academy of Science (WSAS), and is a fellow of four major professional societies: AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers), ACS (American Society of Chemistry), RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry), and AAAS (American Association of the Advancement of Science). He has won numerous awards including 2006 Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, Presidential Green Chemistry Award, three R&D 100 Awards, Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Chemical Engineering at WSU, two PNNL Inventor of the Year Awards, Battelle Distinguished Inventor Award, and the first recipient of PNNL Laboratory Director’s Award for Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award. He is the past chair of the Energy & Fuel Division of the American Chemical Society, and currently serves as the director to the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering division of AIChE and on the editorial board of seven catalysis and energy related journals including ACS Catalysis, Catalysis Today, Chinese Journal of Catalysis, and Journal of Energy Chemistry.

Education and Credentials

• Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Washington State University, 1993
• M.S., Chemical Engineering, Washington State University, 1992
• M.S., Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Science and Technology (now Sichuan University), China, 1987
• B.S., Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Science and Technology (now Sichuan University), China, 1984