Junhong Chen is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and an Excellence in Engineering Faculty Fellow in Nanotechnology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). He is also the Director of the Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) on Water Equipment and Policy, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and water-based industrial partners, and the founder of NanoAffix Science, LLC. Dr. Chen received his B.E. degree (in Thermal Engineering) in 1995 from Tongji University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees (both in Mechanical Engineering) in 2000 and 2002, respectively, from the University of Minnesota (Advisor: Professor Jane Davidson). Dr. Chen’s dissertation research focused on understanding corona discharges and corona plasma-enhanced chemical reactions, e.g., ozone generation and chemical vapor deposition. From October 2002 to August 2003, he was a postdoctoral scholar in Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Advisor: Professor Richard Flagan), where he studied the use of plasma for nanoparticle synthesis. In August 2003, he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UWM, where he was promoted to tenured Associate Professor and Professor in 2008 and 2011, respectively. He received a joint appointment in the UWM Department of Materials Science and Engineering in January 2013.

Professor Chen’s current research focuses on nanomaterial innovations for sustainable energy and environment, including nanomaterial synthesis, assembly, and nanofabrication; energy conversion, storage, and conservation; nanostructure-based gas sensors, biosensors, and water sensors; carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and hybrid nanomaterials; pollution control; and corona discharges and plasma reacting flows (For more details, please visit his research group website at www4.uwm.edu/nsee).