Chao-Yang Wang, Ph.D., is vice president and executive director of the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute at UL Research Institutes. As an internationally recognized leader, he brings more than three decades of experience in battery science, electrochemical energy systems, and energy storage safety.

Throughout his career, Wang has combined scientific excellence with entrepreneurship, founding companies and leading technology commercialization efforts that have brought advanced battery innovations to market – including electrochemical-thermal modeling techniques and the self-heating all-climate battery. His research has focused on advancing the safety of next-generation energy storage technologies, including lithium-metal and solid-state batteries, and he has helped redefine industry understanding of battery safety mechanisms and informed the development of intrinsically safer battery designs.

Prior to joining ULRI, he worked for Pennsylvania State University, where he served as the William E. Diefenderfer Chair in Mechanical Engineering; professor of chemical engineering and materials science and engineering; director of the Electrochemical Engine Center; and co-director of the Battery and Energy Storage Technologies Center. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Electrochemical Society, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Wang earned a B.S. and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from Zhejiang University and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa. He holds approximately 140 issued patents and has authored research cited more than 50,000 times.