Chen Wang, PhD

Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah

Chen began his academic career at the University of Utah in 2022. He was born and raised in Henan province, China, graduated from Beijing University of Chemical Technology with a B.S. in Polymer Materials and Engineering. He received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2017. After residencies in the 3D printing industry and national labs, Chen returns to the university to explore meaningful questions.

Outside of work, Chen tends to stay outside — snowboarding, splitboarding, backpacking, rock climbing, and mountaineering. His outdoor resume includes summiting Mt. Rainier, Mont Blanc, Pico de Orizaba, ~45 summits of "14ers" in Colorado and California. He also likes cooking, reading non-fiction, sipping good beer, and, as always, great conversations.

Experience

Assistant Professor, University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT), 2022-present
- Director of Undergraduate Study and Director of "M3 Makerspace", Materials Science and Engineering, 2024-present
- Founding faculty advisor for ACS POLY/PMSE Utah Student Chapter, 2024-present
- Founding faculty advisor for SAMPE University of Utah Student Chapter, 2026-present
- Faculty Mini-Sabbatical Program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, CA), summer 2024
Postdoctoral Researcher, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, CA), 2019-2021
Materials Scientist, Formlabs (Somerville, MA), 2017-2019
PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO), 2012-2017

Awards

UV+EB Degradability Challenge Winner, RadTech, 2025

Early Career Distinguished Presenter, Materials Research Society, 2025

EHS Partner in Safety Award, University of Utah, 2025

RSC Applied Polymers, Emerging Investigator Series, 2025

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Emerging Investigator themed collection, 2024

Green Chemistry, Emerging Investigator themed collection, 2026

College of Engineering Top 15% Teacher, University of Utah, Fall 2022

Outstanding Mentor for Interns and Postdocs, NREL, 2020

Director’s Award, NREL, 2020

Recognition Award for Contributions in Photopolymerizations, IUCRC-Photopolymerization Center, 2016

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