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The UNT College of Science is pleased to welcome Assistant Professor Dr. Linxiao Chen to the UNT Chemistry department. Dr. Chen’s research focus is in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. His lab studies solid catalysts and the chemical reactions that occur on them, which involve more than 85% of current industrial processes in most chemical products on the market. 

“Our program has the chemistry component – understanding why catalysts work and how reactions happen, as well as the engineering component – applying the fundamental knowledge to practice,” said Dr. Chen, who completed his undergraduate degree in Peking University in China before earning his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Indiana University. “We collaborate with many researchers whose expertise complements ours, both within and outside of UNT. One of the unique aspects of our research is that we frequently work with the national laboratory system of the Department of Energy to access special techniques unavailable elsewhere for our studies. This line of work naturally involves developing new tools and methodologies for the catalysis research community.”

Prior to coming to UNT, Dr. Chen worked for four years at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a postdoc and at the Department of Chemical, Biomolecular, and Corrosion Engineering at The University of Akron. Besides conducting research, he is also looking forward to teaching a section of General Chemistry classes this semester. 

“The course I am teaching will introduce students to basic chemical principles, including thermodynamics and kinetics, solution, acid-base, and electro-chemistry,” he said. “There are many mathematical calculations involved, besides understanding the molecular and atomic-level interactions, so I hope students do not find that too hard!” 

Dr. Chen prides himself on his interdisciplinary background and being a “jack of all trades” when it comes to his research interests. “I enjoy leveraging my background to do highly collaborative work with people from different backgrounds that bring knowledge from different fields together to create something unique,” he said. 

After years working in engineering, he felt he was ready to get back to his chemistry roots and started looking for jobs that aligned with his vision for research. “This position at UNT was the rare perfect match for my research interests and provided abundant resources and ready-made research collaboration opportunities,” he said. “It is rare in a sense that few chemistry departments in the US specifically look for faculty members working on heterogeneous catalysis!” 

Dr. Chen mentioned that his lab is especially interested in mentoring undergraduate and TAMS students who are passionate about pursuing research. His mentoring and teaching philosophy goes beyond STEM learning and aims to teach students how to improve themselves as people and advance their “soft skills” for success in life beyond university. 

“Teaching the nuts and bolts about chemistry is fun and exciting, but teaching students how to analyze and solve problems, think logically and creatively, and communicate their thoughts effectively is just as important to me,” Dr. Chen explained. “To me the most fun part about science is connecting dots between different topics by understanding the underlying principles that thread this world together. I try my best to inspire my students to think deep, be curious, and never stop questioning why.”