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Prof. Wendy L. Queen

Prof. Wendy L. Queen obtained her PhD in chemistry from Clemson University in August of 2009. Upon receipt of her PhD, she was awarded a fellowship from the National Research Council to study neutron scattering at the NIST Center for Neutron Research in Gaithersburg Maryland. Here, she chose to focus her work on elucidating small molecule interactions on the internal surface of porous materials, such as metal-organic frameworks and zeolites. In 2012, she was appointed a project scientist position at the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley California where she helped launch a new user program focused on the synthesis and characterization of porous adsorbents. In 2015, she was appointed Assistant Professor in the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at EPFL, and in 2022 she was promoted to Associate Professor. Her research is focused on the synthesis and characterization of novel porous adsorbents, namely metal-organic frameworks, that are of interest in a number of applications such as gas and liquid separations. The ultimate goal of her research is to contribute knowledge towards solving globally relevant problems, like reducing energy consumption, developing sustainable processes, cutting CO₂emissions, water purification, and improving healthcare infrastructure. Her desire is to help train a new generation of researchers that have the knowledge and scientific skill set necessary to become future frontrunners in energy and environmentally-related research. In 2018, she won Merck’s 350 Innovation Challenge,in 2020, she was named one of C&E News“Talented 12”, an award which highlights “a dozen young rising stars who are using chemical know-how to change the world”, and in 2022 she won the Agora Optimus Prize from the Swiss National Science Foundation.

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