Principal Investigator

Dr. Yang Jason Xiao was born in Changchun, Jilin Province, P. R. China. He 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.