Donghai Wang, Ph.D.

Wang

 

Donghai Wang, Ph.D.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Brown Foundation Chair of Mechanical Engineering

Office Location: Embrey 200D

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Education

  • Post-Doctoral Fellow: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Tulane University
  • M.S., Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University
  • B.S., Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University

Biography

Prof. Donghai Wang is the Brown Foundation Chair of Mechanical Engineering with a courtesy appointment at the Department of Civil Engineering at SMU's Lyle School of Engineering. Prof. Donghai Wang began his academic career at the Pennsylvania State University in 2009 as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute of Energy and the Environment. He advanced through the ranks, achieving the position of Full Professor in 2018. In 2024, Prof. Wang joined SMU as a tenured professor.

Prof. Wang is a distinguished researcher specializing in the advancement of energy storage technologies from materials to integrated systems. His research efforts have included material discovery, manufacturing of advanced batteries, and integration of cell components into functional energy storage technologies. Prof. Wang has been an ardent leader responsible for guiding multiple-organization interdisciplinary teams, executing over $23M grants as principal investigators, and overseeing over 60 doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows. His prolific contributions to academic literature include approximately 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, published in esteemed outlets such as Nature Materials and Nature Energy, with an H-index of 79. Prof. Wang's research excellence earned him recognition as a Highly Cited Researcher from 2018 to 2023 consecutively according to Web of Science. Prof. Wang has given over 100 talks at professional conferences and universities and is a prolific inventor with over 20 applications filed in the fields of materials and related applications to energy storage techniques.   

Honors and Awards

  • Highly Cited Researcher 2018-2023, Web of Science, Clarivate Analytics
  • Advancement of Knowledge Award, Institute of Energy and the Environment, The Pennsylvania State University, 2023
  • Faculty Scholar Medal, The Pennsylvania State University, 2020
  • Outstanding Research Award, Penn State Engineering Alumni Association, 2013
  • DTRA Young Investigator Grant Award, 2010
  • MRS Graduate Student Gold Award, Materials Research Society, Fall, 2004

Research

  • Design and synthesis of novel nanostructured materials

  • Advanced electrochemical energy storage technologies

  • Clean energy techniques

Recent Publications

  • Li, G-X., Koverga, V., Nguyen, A., Kou, R., Ncube, M., Jiang, H., Wang, K., Liao, M., Guo, H., Chen, J., Dandu, N., Ngo, A., Wang, D., Enhancing lithium metal battery longevity through minimized coordinating diluent, Nature Energy, 2024, 9, 817–827.

  • Wang, D., Jhang, Li-Ji, Kou, R., Liao, M., Zheng, S., Jiang, H., Shi, P., Li, G., Meng, K., Wang, D., Realizing high-capacity all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries using a low-density inorganic solid-state electrolyte, Nature Communications, 2023, 14, 1895.

  • Gao, Y., Rojas, T., Wang, K., Liu, S., Wang, D., Chen, T., Wang, H., Ngo, A., Wang, D., Low-temperature and high-rate-charging lithium metal batteries enabled by an electrochemically active monolayer-regulated interface, Nature Energy, 2020, 5, 534–542.

  • Gao, Y., Yan, Z., Gray, J., He, X., Wang, D., Chen, T., Huang, Q., Li, Y., Wang, H., Kim, S., Mallouk, T., Wang, D., Polymer-inorganic solid-electrolyte interphase for stable lithium metal batteries under lean electrolyte conditions, Nature Materials, 2019, 18, 384–389.

  •  Li, G., Liu, Z., Huang, Q., Gao, Y., Regula, M., Wang, D., Chen, L., Wang, D., Stable metal battery anodes enabled by polyethylenimine sponge hosts by way of electrokinetic effects, Nature Energy, 2018, 3, 1076–1083.

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