Wenjie Liao

Wenjie Liao serves as a Research Fellow in the Chemistry Division at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he conducts theoretical research within the Catalysis: Reactivity and Structure Group since May 2023. His work bridges computational modeling and experimental validation to advance catalyst design for energy applications.

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stony Brook University, United States (2023)
• B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University, China (2017)

Dr. Liao's research centers on heterogeneous catalysis using density functional theory (DFT) and kinetic modeling to probe active sites and reaction pathways on metal, metal oxide, and metal nitride surfaces. He pioneers machine learning integration to identify catalytic descriptors, enabling predictive models that reveal elementary step interactions and drive rational catalyst optimization for CO₂ conversion and oxidation processes.

His publication record (2019-2022) demonstrates expertise in CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol/ethanol, CO oxidation, and metal-support interactions, with a growing emphasis on data-driven frameworks that connect fundamental surface science to industrial catalytic performance.

His contributions have earned recognition through:

• Dr. Mow Shiah Lin Scholarship (2022)
• CFN & NSLS-II User Meeting Poster Contest Award (2022)
• AIChE Outstanding Student Chapter Presidency (2017)

No formal student advising or grant leadership roles are documented in current materials, though his collaborative publications indicate active engagement with experimental teams at Brookhaven's Center for Functional Nanomaterials.

As a core member of the Catalysis: Reactivity and Structure Group, he contributes to Brookhaven's mission of developing advanced catalysts for sustainable energy solutions through atomic-scale surface characterization and computational modeling.