Wennie Wang

Last updated
Wennie Wang
Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of California, Santa Barbara
Awards Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award (2025)
Scientific career
Fields Materials science
Institutions University of Chicago
University of Texas at Austin
Thesis  (2018)
Doctoral advisor Chris G. Van de Walle

Wennie Wang is a materials scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the winner of multiple awards including the 2025 Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award from the American Physical Society. [1] Her research work focuses on the optoelectronic properties of novel materials through the development and application of first-principles computational methods.

Contents

Career

Wennie Wang completed her undergraduate education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013 with a degree in Material Sciences and Engineering. She then earned her Ph.D. in 2018 at the University of California, Santa Barbara under the direction of Chris G. Van de Walle. [2] [3]

From 2018 to 2021 Wang worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago under Giulia Galli. [2] In this role she used quantum mechanical calculations to study the properties of bismuth vanadate, a photoelectrode material that can be used to create a solar fuel. [4]

In 2021 Wang started work as an assistant professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She also is affiliated with the Allen J. Bard Center for Electrochemistry, [5] the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials (a National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center), [6] the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, and the Texas Materials Institute. [7] [3]

Wang and her research group at the University of Texas Austin use first-principles computational methods to study novel semiconductor material. Wang's research particularly focuses on the optical and electronic properties produced by defects in transition metal compounds. [8]

In 2025 Wang received the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award of the American Physical Society (APS) for outstanding research by a woman in physics in the early stages of her career. The award cited her "outstanding contributions to the field of materials science, including pioneering research on defective transition metal oxides for energy sustainability, a commitment to broadening participation of underrepresented groups in computational materials science, and leadership and advocacy in the scientific community." [1]

Wang has also been involved in various roles outside her primary institution and has especially focused on the status of early career scientists. Because of her work in this and other areas, she has received the 2024 Reviewer Excellence Award for PRX Energy [9] and the 2023 5 Sigma Physicist Honor. [10] [11] In 2025 she became one of the first early career board members of the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Applied Electronic Materials. [8] She also served as a member-at-large and as chair of the Forum for Early Career Scientists of the APS. [12]

Honors and awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Maria Goeppert Mayer Award". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2025-03-19.
  2. 1 2 "The Galli Group". galligroup.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  3. 1 2 "Wennie Wang". www.che.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  4. ↑ "New research could boost a solar-powered fuel made by splitting water". University of Chicago News. 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  5. ↑ "People | Allen J. Bard Center for Electrochemistry". electrochemistry.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  6. ↑ "Faculty & Staff | Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: an NSF MRSEC". mrsec.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  7. ↑ "Faculty Directory". tmi.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  8. 1 2 Ling, Xing Yi; Kim, Hyun Jae (2025-03-25). "Introducing the Inaugural Early Career Board Members in ACS Applied Electronic Materials" . ACS Applied Electronic Materials. 7 (6): 2153–2155. doi:10.1021/acsaelm.5c00429.
  9. 1 2 "Reviewer Excellence Award". promo.aps.org. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  10. 1 2 "5 Sigma Physicist Honor". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  11. 1 2 Johnson, Tawanda W. (16 July 2024). "Eighteen Science Policy Advocates Receive 2023 5 Sigma Physics Honor". APS News. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  12. ↑ Wang, Wennie (2023). "Message from the Chair". Newsletter of the Forum for Early Career Scientists, American Physical Society. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  13. ↑ "The Ken Hass Outstanding Student Paper Award". APS Forum on Industrial & Applied Physics. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  14. ↑ "Past Recipients". Materials Research Society. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
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