Hailiang Wang

Hailiang Wang is a Professor of Chemistry and Director of Graduate Studies at Yale University, where he has been a faculty member since 2014. His research focuses on Materials Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Physical Chemistry, with an emphasis on electrocatalytic systems for energy conversion and environmental remediation. He earned his B.S. from Peking University, Ph.D. from Stanford University, and held a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley.

• Education:
  • B.S., Peking University (2007)
  • Ph.D., Stanford University (2012)
  • Philomathia Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley (2012-2014)

His work addresses global challenges in clean energy transition and carbon emission mitigation through catalyst design for reactions like CO2 reduction, nitrate conversion, and next-generation battery materials. Key areas include heterogeneous molecular catalysts, photocatalytic systems, and electrocatalytic processes for environmental applications.

Recent studies highlight his 15 most recent articles (2025-2024) spanning topics such as CO2 reduction to methanol, photothermal interface engineering, dual-site electrocatalysts, and electrochemical pollutant removal. These works emphasize structure-reactivity correlations and nanoscale interactions in catalytic systems.

His scientific contributions have been recognized with awards including:

• NSF CAREER Award (2017)
• Sloan Research Fellowship (2019)
• National Brown Investigator Award (2025)
• Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (2016-present)

As an advisor, he mentors a diverse team of postdocs and graduate students, including Seonjeong Cheon, Jing Li, Yuanzuo Gao, and Conor Rooney, fostering innovation in energy storage and environmental chemistry. His lab at the Energy Sciences Center II integrates materials science, nanotechnology, and surface science to develop sustainable chemical processes.