Principal Investigator

Dr. Yang Jason Xiao earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Southeast University (Nanjing, China) in 2010. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering through Purdue University/Southeast University in 2015. His doctoral research was co-advised by Prof. Guomin Xiao at Southeast University (2010 - 2012) and Prof. Arvind Varma at Purdue University (2012 - 2015).

Following his Ph.D., Dr. Xiao served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Purdue University (2015 - 2018), conducting catalytic reaction engineering research with Prof. Arvind Varma and computational catalysis research with Prof. Jeffrey P. Greeley. He subsequently served as a Research Scientist (2018 - 2019) and Senior Research Engineer (2019 - 2022) at Purdue University. In 2022, Dr. Xiao joined Louisiana Tech University as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, where he is Principal Investigator of the Reaction Engineering and Catalysis Science Laboratory (RECSL).

• B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Southeast University (Nanjing, China), 2010.
• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Purdue University/Southeast University, 2015. Co-advised by Prof. Arvind Varma, Purdue University (2012 - 2015), and Prof. Guomin Xiao, Southeast University (2010 - 2012).
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A.), 2015 - 2018. Catalytic reaction engineering with Prof. Arvind Varma and computational catalysis with Prof. Jeffrey P. Greeley.

• 2018 - 2019: Research Scientist, Purdue University.
• 2019 - 2022: Senior Research Engineer, Purdue University.
• 2022 - Present: Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University.

• Virgil Orr Junior Faculty Award, Louisiana Tech University (LaTech), 2026.
• College Education Award, College of Engineering and Science, LaTech, 2026.
• College Research Award: DARPA SMS, College of Engineering and Science, LaTech, 2026.
• College Research Award: DARPA MICA, College of Engineering and Science, LaTech, 2026.
• Rising Star in Sustainability, Sustainability Science and Technology, 2026.
• L. K. Doraiswamy Graduate Seminar Series, Iowa State University, 2026.
• College Research Award, College of Engineering and Science, LaTech, 2025.
• Early Career Excellence in Research Award, Louisiana Tech University, 2025.
• Doctoral New Investigator Award, ACS Petroleum Research Fund (ACS-PRF), 2025.
• Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) Award, U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), 2024.
• Research Enhancement Awards, Louisiana Space Grant (LaSPACE), 2023.
• Young Investigator Travel Award, International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering (ISCRE), 2023.
• Collaborative Partnership Awards, Louisiana Materials Design Alliance, 2023.

• See Dr. Yang Xiao at The Academic Genealogy of Engineering
• See the Academic Family Tree of Dr. Arvind Varma (Dr. Xiao's PhD advisor at Purdue University) below.

• Secretary, Southwest Catalysis Society, 2026 - 2028.
• Tenure-Track Faculty Search Committee, Chemical Engineering Department, 2024 - 2025.
• Executive Committee, Institute for Micromanufacturing, 2023 - 2024.
• Strategic Planning Committee - Research Team, College of Engineering and Science, 2024 - 2025.
• University Senate (Executive Committee), Louisiana Tech University, 2024 - 2025.
• University Senate, Louisiana Tech University, 2025 - 2028.

• Catalysts, Guest Editor, 2021 - present.
• International Journal of Computational Materials Science and Surface Engineering, Acting Editor, 2021 - present.
• Sustainability, Editorial Board Member, 2022 - present.

• Senior Member of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
• Member of American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Member of North American Catalysis Society

• Hydrocarbon Conversion (I: Methane; II: Light Alkanes; III: Olefins and Others) (bin chair), AIChE Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, November 8 - 12, 2026.
• C1 Catalysis (symposium organizer), ACS Fall Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 23 - 27, 2026.
• Catalyst Design, Synthesis, and Characterization V: Hydrogenation/Dehydrogenation (session chair), AIChE Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November 2 - 6, 2025.
• Catalysis on Low Dimensional Materials (bin co-chair, session chair), AIChE Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, October 27 - 31, 2024.
• Catalysis on Low Dimensional Materials (bin co-chair, session co-chair), AIChE Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, November 5 - 10, 2023.
• Session III, Southeastern Catalysis Society Annual Symposium, Tuscaloosa, AL, February 27 - 28, 2023.
• Fundamentals of Catalysis and Surface Science II: Zeolites and Acid Catalysis, AIChE Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, November 13 - 18, 2022.
• Biomass Upgrading I: Reaction Fundamentals, AIChE Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November 5 - 11, 2021.
• Fundamentals and Strategies for Catalytic Biomass Conversion, AIChE Annual Meeting, Virtual, November 16 - 20, 2020.

200+ reviews for 40+ journals.

ACS Omega, ACS Nano, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, AIChE Journal, Applied Energy, Applied Catalysis A: General, Applied Surface Science, Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering, Biomass and Bioenergy, Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, Catalysis Communications, Catalysis Letters, Catalysts, Chem, Chem Catalysis, ChemNanoMat, Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, Chemical Engineering Journal, Chemical Engineering Science, ChemistrySelect, ChemCatChem, ChemSusChem, Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, Energy Exploration & Exploitation, Energy & Fuels, Fuel Processing, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, Materials, Materials Chemistry and Physics, Molecular Simulation, Molecular Physics, Molecular Catalysis, Molecules, Next Research, Reactions, Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, Results in Surfaces and Interfaces, Reviews in Chemical Engineering, Sustainability, and Sustainable Energy & Fuels.