Junhong Chen is currently a Crown Family Professor of Molecular Engineering at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and lead water strategist at Argonne National Laboratory.
Prior to coming to Chicago, Prof. Chen served as a program director for the Engineering Research Centers (ERC) program of the US National Science Foundation (NSF). He also served as a co-chair of the NSF-wide ERC Working Group to design the ERC Planning Grants program and the Gen-4 ERC program. In addition, Chen was a representative from the Engineering Directorate serving on the NSF-wide Working Groups for NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) and NSF Research Traineeship (NRT).
Prior to joining NSF in May 2017, he was a regent scholar of the University of Wisconsin System, a Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering and an Excellence in Engineering Faculty Fellow in Nanotechnology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). He served as the director of NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) on Water Equipment & Policy (WEP) for six years. He founded NanoAffix Science LLC to commercialize real-time water sensors based on 2D nanomaterials.
Chen received his PhD in mechanical engineering from University of Minnesota in 2002 and was a postdoctoral scholar in chemical engineering at California Institute of Technology from 2002 to 2003. Chen is an elected fellow of National Academy of Inventors and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is a recipient of the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) Medal. His start-up company, NanoAffix, is a recipient of the 2016 Wisconsin Innovation Award.
Junhong Chen Research Group’s goal is to impact our society through scientific discoveries and sustainable technological innovations. His research interest lies in molecular engineering of nanomaterials and nanodevices, particularly hybrid nanomaterials featuring rich interfaces and nanodevices for sustainable energy and environment. His approach is to combine multidisciplinary experiments with first-principles calculations to design and discover novel nanomaterials for engineering various sensing and energy devices with superior performance.
Chen has made seminal contributions to general areas of hybrid nanomaterials and molecular engineering of various sensors and energy devices. He has published 250 journal papers and is listed as a 2017 and 2018 highly cited researcher (top 1%) in materials science by Clarivate Analytics. His research has led to nine issued US patents, five pending patents, and 13 licensing agreements. He is a pioneer in technology translation and commercialization through exemplary industrial partnership and the university start-up company.
Additive manufacturing and applications of nanomaterial-based sensors
X. Y. Sui+, J. R. Downing+, M. C. Hersam*, and J. H. Chen*, "Additive Manufacturing and Applications of Nanomaterial Sensors," Accepted to Materials Today, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2021.02.001, 2021.
Wastewater-Based Epidemiology for Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic
C. Fuschi, H. H. Pu, CM. Negri, R. Colwell, and J. H. Chen*, "Wastewater-based Epidemiology for Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic," ACS ES&T Water 1(6), 1352-1362, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.1c00050, 2021.
Tailoring MOF-derived porous carbon nanorods confined red phosphorous for superior potassium-ion storage
X. Y. Sui, X. K. Huang*, H. H. Pu, Y. L. Wang, and J. H. Chen*, "Tailoring MOF-Derived Porous Carbon Nanorods Confined Red Phosphorous for Superior Potassium-Ion Storage," Nano Energy 83, 105797, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.105797, 2021.
From Phosphorus Nanorods/C to York-Shell P@Hollow C for Potassium-Ion Batteries: High Capacity with Stable Cyclic Performance
X. K. Huang, X. Y. Sui, W. X. Ji, Y. L. Wang, D. Y. Qu, and J. H. Chen, From Phosphorus Nanorods/C to York-Shell P@Hollow C for Potassium-Ion Batteries: High Capacity with Stable Cyclic Performance, J. Mater. Chem. A. 8(11), 7641-7646, DOI: 10.1039/D0TA01576H, 2020.
Design of a novel oxygen therapeutic using polymeric hydrogel microcapsules mimicking red blood cells
A. Cherwin, S. Namen, J. Rapacz, G. Kusik, A. Anderson, Y. Wang, M. Katchev, R. Schroeder, K. O'Connell, S. Stephens, J. Chen, and W. Zhang. Design of a novel oxygen therapeutic using polymeric hydrogel microcapsules mimicking red blood cells, Pharmaceutics. 2019, 11, 583.
Design of pectin-based bioink containing bioactive agent-loaded microspheres for bioprinting
D. L. Johnson, R. M. Ziemba, J. H. Shebesta, J. C. Lipscomb, Y. L. Wang, Y. L. Wu, K. D. O’Connell, M. G. Kaltchev, A. van Groningen, J. H. Chen, X. L. Hua, and W. J. Zhang. Design of pectin-based bioink containing bioactive agent-loaded microspheres for bioprinting, Biomed Phys Eng Express. 2019, 5(6).
Semi-quantitative Design of Black Phosphorous Field-Effect Transistor Sensors for Heavy Metal Ion Detection in Aqueous Media
J. B. Chang, H. H. Pu, S. A. Wells, K. Y. Shi, X. R. Guo, G. H. Zhou, X. Y. Sui, R. Ren, S. Mao, Y. T. Chen, M. C. Hersam, and J. H. Chen, Semi-quantitative Design of Black Phosphorous Field-Effect Transistor Sensors for Heavy Metal Ion Detection in Aqueous Media, Molecular Systems Design & Engineering, 4 (3), 491-502, DOI: 10.1039/c8me00056e, 2019.
Electrochemical exfoliation of ultrathin ternary molybdenum sulfoselenide nanosheets to boost the energy-efficient hydrogen evolution reaction
J. C. Si, H. L. Chen, C. J. Lei, Y. G. Suo, B. Yang, Z. G. Zhang, Z. J. Li, J. H. Chen, L. C. Lei, and Y. Hou. Electrochemical exfoliation of ultrathin ternary molybdenum sulfoselenide nanosheets to boost the energy-efficient hydrogen evolution reaction, Nanoscale. 2019, 11(35), 16200-16207.
Self-healing Liquid Metal Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Hollow Carbon Fibers as a Free-standing Anode for Lithium-ion Batteries
J. H. Zhu, Y. P. Wu, X. K. Huang, L. Huang, M. Y. Cao, G. Q. Song, X. R. Guo, X. Y. Sui, R. Ren, and J. H. Chen, Self-healing Liquid Metal Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Hollow Carbon Fibers as a Free-standing Anode for Lithium-ion Batteries, Nano Energy, 62, 883-889, DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.06.023, 2019.
Electronic Resonance-Frequency Modulation for Rapid, Point-of-Care Ebola-Glycoprotein Diagnosis with a Graphene-Based Field-Effect Biotransistor
A. Maity, X. Y. Sui, B. Jing, K. J. Bottum, X. K. Huang, J. B. Chang, G. H. Zhou, G. H. Lu, and J. H. Chen, Electronic Resonance Frequency Modulation for Rapid Point-of-care Ebola Glycoprotein Diagnosis with a Graphene-based Field-effect Bio-transistor, Anal. Chem., 90(24), 14230-14238, DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b03226, 2018.