Dr. Qing Wang received his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from East China University of Science and Technology (Shanghai, China), M.S. in Chemistry from Wuhan University (Wuhan, China) and Ph.D. in Chemistry from The University of Chicago. He was a postdoctoral associate in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Cornell University from 2000 – 2002, and joined the Pennsylvania State University in 2002. He received the Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award in 2007, NSF CAREER Award in 2006, and Virginia S. and Philip L. Walker Faculty Fellow in 2004. His current research interests are the development of multifunctional polymers and polymer nanocomposites for applications in energy storage and conversion.
This faculty member is associated with the Penn State Intercollege Graduate Degree Program (IGDP) in Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) where a multitude of perspectives and cross-disciplinary collaboration within research is highly valued. Graduate students in the IGDP in MatSE may work with faculty members from across Penn State.
The research programs in Dr. Wang’s laboratory are centered on using chemical and material engineering approaches towards the development of novel functional polymers and polymer nanocomposites with unique physical properties. The projects aim to improve fundamental understanding of polymers and polymer nanocomposites by investigating how molecular, macromolecular and multiple-scale assembled structures influence macroscopic physical properties. The research is highly multidisciplinary at the interface of several fields, including polymer and materials chemistry, structural characterization, materials processing, physical property measurement, and device engineering.
Electrical energy storage plays an essential role in advanced electronics and electrical power systems such as portable electronics, electric vehicles and smart grids. Our current efforts in capacitive energy storage involve the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured ferroelectric polymers with tunable dielectric properties and development of polymer nanocomposites with high energy densities and large breakdown strengths. Our battery research program includes the synthesis and characterization of polymer based nonflammable electrolytes for next-generation lithium ion batteries.
Our interests in energy harvesting and conversion and multifunctional materials include the development of new ferroelectric polymers and polymer nanocomposites for piezoelectric energy harvesting, development of the multiferroic nanocomposites composed of ferroelectric polymer matrix and ferromagnetic nanoparticles for investigation of the coupling of the magnetic and electric properties, development of ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites exhibiting giant electrocaloric effect for solid-state cooling, and synthesis of conjugated block polymers for photovoltaics.
- Fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2022)
- Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2020)
- Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal (2018)
- Wilson Award for Excellence in Research (Penn State, 2016)
- Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award (Penn State, 2007)
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2006)
- Virginia S. and Philip L. Walker Faculty Fellow (Penn State, 2004)