Academic Staff

Biography

Professor Wang, previously a Laboratory Fellow and Director of the Institute for Integrated Catalysis (IIC) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and now Emeritus Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering at Washington State University (WSU), is widely recognized for his pioneering work in developing novel catalytic materials and reaction engineering to tackle energy and atom efficiency challenges in converting carbon sources—including fuels, biomass, CO₂, and plastic waste—into fuels and chemicals with minimal environmental impact. With expertise spanning fundamental principles to crucial industrial applications, he drives advancements in sustainable technologies to address present and future energy, resource, and environmental concerns. He has conducted funded research and/or consulting for industrial organizations, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), GEVO, Nexceris, Ascend Performance Materials, BASF, Chambroad, Ammbonia, Nike, Al Gore, and Velocys.

Professor Wang is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (2025) and the Washington State Academy of Sciences (2015) as well as a fellow of National Academy of Inventors (2015), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE, 2013), American Chemical Society (ACS, 2010), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, 2008), and Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC, 2013). His contributions to catalysis, reaction engineering, applied chemistry, and chemical engineering have been recognized through numerous national and international honors, including the 2025 North American Catalysis Society Robert Burwell Lectureship, the 2025 AIChE Wilhelm Award, the 2021 ACS E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, the 2019 AIChE Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Practice Award, the 1999 Presidential Green Chemistry Award, the 2006 Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, the 2025 Chinese American Chemical Society Outstanding Achievement Award, the 2018 ACS I&EC Division Fellow Award, and the 1997, 1998, and 2008 R&D100 Awards.

As a researcher, inventor, and visionary academic leader, Professor Wang has published ~500 peer-reviewed articles with an H-index of 110 and 55,080 citations as of September 16, 2026. Recognized as a highly cited researcher by Web of Science, he also holds 111 issued U.S. patents, with over 90% licensed to industry, highlighting his impact on technology transfer. He has delivered ~300 invited talks (plenary, keynote etc) in national and international conferences and presented honorary lectures to industries and academia including Rice University National Academies Colloquium Series (2026), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Parr Lectureship (2026), Clariant Invitational Lecturer (2026), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology IAS Distinguished Lecturer (2025),  Hong Kong Polytechnic University PAIR Distinguished Lecturer (2025), John Deere Invitational Lecturer (2024), Nanyang Technological University College of Engineering Distinguished Lecturer (2024), National University of Singapore Distinguished Lecturer (2024), Singapore Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment Invitational Lecturer (2024), UOP-Honeywell Invitational Lecturer (2023).

He is currently serving as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy and Executive Editor of the Chemical Engineering Journal. 

Selected publications

1. K. Khivantsev*, H. Pham, M. H. Engelhard, H. A. Aleksandrov*, L. Kovarik, M. Bowden, S. Li, J. Tian, I. Z. Koleva, I. Song, W. Hu, X. Wei, Y. Sun, P. Tran, T. R. Graham, D. Jiang, D. P. Dean, D. J. Breckner, J. T. Miller, G. N. Vayssilov, J. Szanyi*, A. Datye*, Y. Wang*, “Transforming ceria into 2D clusters enhances catalytic activity”, Nature, 2025, 649, 947-953, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08684-x.
2. R. Zhang, Y. Wang*, P. Gaspard, N. Kruse*, “The oscillating Fischer-Tropsch reaction”, Science, 2023, 382, 99-103, DOI: 10.1126/science.adh8463.
3. X. Li, X. I. P. Hernandez, Y. Chen, J. Xu, J. Zhao, C. Pao, C.-Y. Fang, J. Zeng*, Y. Wang*, B. C. Gates*, J. Liu*, “Functional CeOx nanoglues for robust atomically dispersed catalysts”, Nature, 2022, 611, 284-288, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05251-6.
4. L. Nie, D. Mei, H. Xiong, B. Peng, Z. Ren, X. Hernandez, A. DeLaRiva, M. Wang, M. H. Engelhard, L. Kovarik, A. K. Datye*, Y. Wang*, “Activation of surface lattice oxygen in single-atom Pt/CeO2 for low-temperature CO oxidation”, Science, 2017, 358, 1419-1423, DOI: 10.1126/science.aao2109.
5. J. Jones, H. Xiong, A. T. DeLaRiva, E. J. Peterson, H. Pham, S. R. Challa, G. Qi, S. Oh, M. H. Wiebenga, X. Hernández, Y. Wang, A. K. Datye*, “Thermally stable single-atom platinum-on-ceria catalysts via atom trapping”, Science, 2016, 353(6295), 150-154, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf8800.
6. D. Jiang*, H. Pham, Y. Li, Y. Lu, W. Hu, G. Wan, C. Dun, J. Li, C. García-Vargas, Y. Sun, A. W. Savoy, W. Huang, R. Zhang, A. DeLaRiva, R. S. Kim, X. Li, J. Urban, J. Yano, S. Kelly, C. Sun, K. Khivantsev, C. Tassone, J. Hu, J. Szanyi, A. Datye*, Y. Wang*, “Transformation of CeO2 nanoparticles into atomically dispersed Ce cations leads to enhanced reactivity for automotive emissions control”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2026, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c21779. (cover)
7. S. Feng, S. Jiang, C. Song, C. Dun, Y. Deng, H. Xu, Z. Zhang, X. He, T. O. Ikuerowo, M. R. Hoffmann, J. T. Miller*, Y. Wang*, W. Huang*, “Step-associated Cu-ceria interfaces enhance catalytic reactivity”, Angewandte Chemie. Int. Ed, 2026, DOI: 10.1002/anie.5628406. (cover)
8. W. Hu, H. Cai, A. Savoy, J. Tian, S. Kim, F. Lin, J. Li, H. Xu, Y. Wu, Z. Zhang, N. Jaegers, H. Wang, F. Gao*, J. Hu*, and Y. Wang*, “Facet-dependent water inhibition of alkanol dehydration on TiO2 via distinct water–alkanol complexes.”      Angewandte Chemie. Int. Ed.  2026, DOI: 10.1002/anie.2431054. (cover)
9. D. J. Deka*, M. Wan, G. Lee, E. Walter, F. Che*, K. G. Rappe, J. Szányi, Y. Wang*, “Insights into the mechanisms of NH3 inhibition on Cu-CHA SCR catalysts” Nature Comm., 2026, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-72879-7.
10. Jiang, D., Wan, G., Halldin Stenlid, J. et al. Dynamic and reversible transformations of subnanometre-sized palladium on ceria for efficient methane removal. Nat Catal 6, 618–627 (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41929-023-00983-8.