Dianne J. Xiao

Dianne J. Xiao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington, holding the Klaus and Mary Ann Saegebarth Endowed Faculty Fellowship. Her research focuses on developing porous materials for clean energy applications, including conductive materials powered by renewable electricity and catalysts for sustainable feedstock conversion. She completed her A.B. at Harvard (2011) and Ph.D. at UC Berkeley (2016) under NSF and Beckman Fellowships, followed by postdoctoral work at Stanford.

• Education: A.B. Harvard University (2011), Ph.D. University of California–Berkeley (2016)

Her lab investigates synthetic inorganic chemistry and materials science, emphasizing energy storage and catalytic systems. Recent work includes conjugated macrocycles for energy applications and crystal engineering of metal-tetraoxolene complexes.

• Awards: 2025 Sloan Research Fellowship, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship

Advising over a dozen graduate and undergraduate researchers, Xiao mentors students in renewable energy scholarship programs. Her lab collaborates with UW facilities and industry partners to advance sustainable technologies.

Lab activities include the Photonics Research Center and Core Instrumentation facilities, focusing on X-ray crystallography and advanced material characterization.