PNNL

Yong Wang, associate director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL’s) Institute for Integrated Catalysis, has been awarded the 2021 American Chemical Society (ACS) E.V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.  

He is recognized for developing innovative catalytic materials and reaction engineering leading to sustainable technologies for solving current and future energy, resource, and environmental challenges.

The annual award, established in 1955 by ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company, recognizes outstanding theoretical or experimental research in industrial chemistry or chemical engineering. Murphree, a pioneer in chemical engineering and a former president of Exxon Research & Engineering, is known for his contributions to the fluid catalytic cracking process and his early involvement in the Manhattan Project. 

Wang is scheduled to receive the award at the 2021 ACS annual spring national meeting in San Antonio. His award will also be honored with a special symposium as part of the ACS’ Catalysis Science and Technology Division Program.

At PNNL, Wang is a laboratory fellow, a title bestowed on scientists who have established renown while sustaining research and development projects of the highest quality throughout their careers. He holds a joint appointment with Washington State University, where he is a distinguished professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering.

Wang has been honored in the recent past with recognition that includes the 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Practice Award and the 2018 ACS Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division Fellow Award. 

He has also been elected as fellow of the ACS, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Royal Society of Chemistry, and National Academy of Inventors. He is also a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences.