Donna Chen

Donna Chen is the Robert L. Sumwalt Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina, holding joint appointments in the College of Engineering and Computing and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Her research focuses on atomic-level surface chemistry using ultrahigh vacuum techniques, scanning tunneling microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to advance heterogeneous catalysis.

Chen has received numerous honors including the Southern Chemist Award (2021), AAAS Fellowship (2018), and NSF CAREER Award (2002). Her laboratory studies bimetallic catalysts like Pt-Re systems for reactions including water-gas shift and methanol oxidation. Current projects investigate metal-organic framework catalysts and nanoparticle-support interactions.

Recent publications demonstrate innovations in characterizing catalytic sites in MOFs and understanding oxidation mechanisms at cluster-support interfaces. Her group combines experimental approaches with synchrotron studies to probe surface reactions under realistic conditions.