News Archives

2021

November
  • Dr. Wong and Fuat attend 2021 AIChE Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Wong is excited to go to the meeting in person for the first time for a long time and is honored to celebrate Prof. William H. Green, Jr.‘s 2019 R. H. Wilhelm Award in Chemical Reaction Engineering by attending the sessions in honor of him.
September
  • The lab welcomes new undergraduate researchers, Toren Burton and Monty Cardoza.
  • Peng’s paper on NOx-mediated oxidative propane dehydrogenation is published. Congratulations!
August
  • Our collaborative paper with Prof. Xie‘s group on microbial synthesis of wax esters is published. Congratulations!
June
  • Melisa’s paper on safer solvent blends for high performance liquid chromatography is published. Congratulations!
  • Dr. Wong attends the virtual WasteEng 2020 conference and gives a talk about our biomass/plastics co-pyrolysis work.
May
  • Lab member Peng Yu (Ph.D.) graduates. Peng receives Outstanding Graduate Research Award. Congratulations on your achievements!
April
  • Peng Yu, Ph.D. student in the lab, has successfully defended his dissertation. Congratulations, Peng!
January
  • Our collaborative paper with Prof. Xie‘s group on biochemical conversion of waste cooking oil is published. Congratulations!

2020

November
October
  • Dr. Wong gives a virtual talk at the Thermal & Catalytic Sciences Symposium.
September
  • The lab welcomes new member, Christian Ayafor. Christian will be pursuing his Ph.D. in Energy Engineering.
May
  • Lab members Melisa Nallar (Ph.D.), Colleen Ahern (B.S.), Ethan Bossange (B.S.), and Nicholas Tenaglia (B.S.) graduate. Melisa receives Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Colleen receives Undergraduate Research Award, Ethan receives Howard H. Reynolds Entrepreneurship Award, and Nicholas receives Chemical Engineering Scholarship Award. Congratulations on your achievements!
  • Peng’s paper on reaction coupling between ethylbenzene dehydrogenation and nitrobenzene hydrogenation is published. Congratulations!
  • Our collaborative paper with Prof. Trelles‘ group on converting carbon dioxide using a solar-gliding arc plasma reactor is published. Congratulations! 
April
  • Anthony Quartarone, Undergraduate Immersive Scholar in the lab, receives the Best Poster Award for the annual Student Research & Community Engagement Symposium. Read his story here
  • Melisa Nallar, Ph.D. student in the lab, has successfully defended her dissertation. Congratulations, Melisa!

2019

December
  • Our collaborative paper with Prof. Trelles‘ group on converting carbon dioxide using a solar-enhanced microwave plasma reactor is published. Congratulations! 
November
October
  • We are grateful to be selected by the Department of Energy to develop an enzymatic process to convert polyester wastes into high-value products. The project is led by Prof. Sobkowicz and is a collaborative effort with Prof. Xie. See the award announcement here
  • Dr. Wong gives an invited talk for the seminar series of the Polymer Program of the Institute of the Materials Science at the University of Connecticut.
  • Our collaborative paper with Prof. Gu‘s group on electrochemical ethanol oxidation using nanowire electrodes is published. Congratulations! 
September
  • The lab welcomes new Ph.D. students, Fuat Şakirler, Heba Morgan, Mihriye Doğa Tekbaş, undergraduate researcher, Colleen Ahern, and Immersive Scholars, Patrick Bertini and Anthony Quartarone.  
  • Peng’s paper on propane pyrolysis facilitated by phenyl radicals is published. Congratulations!
June
  • Dr. Wong gives a talk and presents a poster at the Pyroliq 2019 conference in Cork, Ireland. Dr. Wong enjoys the casual atmosphere of the conference venue and takes the opportunity to visit London, UK with his family.
  • Dr. Wong gives a talk at the 2nd New England Energy Research Forum at Worceter Polytechnic Institute.
May
  • Melisa’s paper on how functional groups in molten polymers inhibit cellulose pyrolysis is published. Congratulations!
April
  • Melisa’s paper on how molten polymers inhibit mass transfer pathways in cellulose pyrolysis is published. Congratulations!
March
February
  • Dr. Wong receives the National Science Foundation CAREER award. The award abstract can be found here

2018

December
  • We are grateful to be selected by the Co-Optima Program of the Department of Energy to develop a novel process to convert waste sawdust into renewable fuel additives. The project is led by Prof. Mack and is a collaborative effort with Prof. Schwartz and Prof. Wheeler at the University of Maine. Read this article about our award.
September
  • The article on the student competition to present a reactor concept on converting waste crustacean shells into green fertilizers is live. This reactor concept was presented in the USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo, sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) student design competition program. 
August
  • We are grateful to receive funding from the National Science Foundation to study reaction coupling between alkane dehydrogenation with bio-oil hydrodeoxygenation. The award abstract can be found here
July
  • Our collaborative paper with Prof. Gu‘s group on electrochemical methanol oxidation using nanowire electrodes is published. Congratulations! 
April
  • Dr. Wong and the student competition team travel to Washington, D.C. to present their reactor design concept on converting seafood waste into green fertilizers in the USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo
February