WANG RESEARCH GROUP
University of Miami
Our Vision
Welcome to the Wang Research Group, housed on the vibrant Coral Gables campus of the University of Miami.
Our research program lies at the interdisciplinary nexus of physics, chemistry, and nanoengineering, with a primary emphasis on probing and understanding quantum transport, optoelectronics, and energy conversion processes at atomic and molecular scales. Employing state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical tools, we aim to elucidate the fundamental physics and chemistry governing the behaviors of nano- and molecular-scale quantum materials, while translating these insights into innovative technologies for advancing molecular quantum sciences, next-generation optoelectronics, energy harvesting, and chemical/bio-sensing applications.
Our team is deeply engaged with the frontiers of multidisciplinary science, bridging physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering to uncover emergent phenomena in the microscopic domain. We welcome inquiries from motivated prospective graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral scholars interested in contributing to our efforts or pursuing collaborative opportunities on compelling scientific challenges. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us (kunwang@miami.edu) to discuss potential involvement and collaboration.
News and Highlights
📢📢📢: Our work, demonstrating long-range resonant transport in molecules, is published in J. Am. Chem. Soc. Kudos to fantastic teamwork and congrats to Shaocheng and Mehrdad!
This work has been featured as a JACS Cover and highlighted in multiple news releases, including News@TheU, Phys.Org, EurekAlert, YahooNews, MIRAGE, InterestingEngineering, Bioengineering, WinFuture, Knowbridge, ScienceBlog, etc.
Chek out the Youtube story at University of Miami's homepage.
Sep 2025: Haixin's collaborative work on hierarchical self-assembly of molecular metallacages is published in Chemical Science. Congrats!
Aug 2025: Dr. Wang co-chaired and gave an invited talk at Symposium C5 "Organic and Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Materials: Unconventional Semiconductors for Optoelectronic Technologies" of the 33rd International Materials Research Congress (IMRC) in Cancun, Mexico. Great to learn exciting science and connect with leading experts!
Aug 2025: We celebrated Samantha's summer achievements with a group farewell lunch — proud of her accomplishments and wishing her the best in her future adventures in the quantum universe. Keep soaring! 🚀
Jul 2025: Mehrdad gave an oral presentation at the 56th APS Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Meeting in Portland, OR, and the 2025 IEEE Nano Conference in Washington, DC.
Jun 2025: Our work on achieving long-range resonant transport in molecules is featured on JACS Cover.
Jun 2025: Samantha Gross, a rising senior at Don Soffer Aventura High School in Miami, joins us through UM's Young Scholar Program for her summer research intern. Welcome on board, Samantha!
May 2025: Mehrdad is awarded the NSF Graduate Student Fellowship sponsored by IEEE. This award will allow him to attend and present his research at the 2025 IEEE Nano Conference held in Washington DC. Congrats!
Apr 2025: Collaborative work on MPd5 Kagome Superconductors published in Phys. Rev. B. Congrats, Mehrdad!
Mar 2025: Our group members, Mehrdad and Haixin, participated in organizing and hosting the annual "Physics Fun" event, the largest Physics outreach activity in the Great Miami metro area, at UM's Coral Gables campus. More than 300 people attended the event and enjoyed learning some cool physics through hands-on demonstrations. Congrats to the Wang group for another fantastic outreach activity!
Jan 2025: Haixin won the Inaugural Bruker AFM Image Competition with his AFM art "Superheart". Congrats, Haixin!
Dec 2024: Our group received UM Provost's Research Award. Congrats to the Team!
Dec 2024: Mehrdad and Haixin passed their PhD Qualify Exam. Kudos to both of you! We celebrated it at a local Dim Sum place.
Nov 2024: Collaborative work published in Chemical Science. Congrats to the team!
Nov 2024: Invited review paper published in Applied Physics Review. Congrats to Haixin!
Oct 2024: Collaborative work published in Biomacromolecules. Congrats, Haixin!
Aug 2024: Kun gave an invited talk at the 2024 Quantum Frontiers in Molecular Sciences Symposium in Mexico City, Mexico.
Apr 2024: Invited review paper on "long-range transport in molecular wires" published in ACS Appl. Electron. Mater Congrats, Mehrdad!
Jan 2024: Kun gave an invited talk at the 2024 Physics of Quantum Electronics (PQE) Winter Meeting in Snowbird, Utah.
Dec 2023: Collaborative work on eco-friendly ink for large-area printing of perovskite solar cells published in Advanced Materials.
Dec 2023: Our group virtually visited Del Prado Elementary School (Boca Raton, FL) and delivered lectures on the fun Physics of Matter to 6 classes of 5th-grade students there. We truly enjoyed the interaction with these talented students. Congrats on another great outreach event of the Wang group!
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Sep 2023: Together with Prof. Longji Cui (CU Boulder), Dr. Wang launched a Focus Issue on "Energy Conversion Physics and Devices of Molecular Scale Junctions" in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter.
Aug 2023: Haixin showcased his research and left a mark of our lab at the 2023 ACS Fall Meeting in San Francisco. Great job for your first National Meeting!
Aug 2023: Group member Dr. Chaolong Tang joined Hitachi as a process engineer. Congratulations, Dr. Tang! We thank you for your tremendous contribution to our group and wish you the very best for the exciting journey ahead in your career.
Aug 2023: Our group moved to the University of Miami at Coral Gables, Florida. We are excited to start a new chapter of our lab and embrace new opportunities.
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Jul 2023: Shaocheng and Jamaal showcased their research at the Mississippi EPSCoR Annual Meeting held at Hattieburg, Mississippi.
Jun 2023: Kun delivered an invited talk "Quantum Transport at the Molecular Scale" at the 2023 International Workshop on Frontier Physics held at Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Jun 2023: Our lab had a group photoshoot as we say goodbye to Ridwan Ayinla who successfully defended his Master degree and welcome new lab member Jamaal Jackson from U South. Miss. for joining us for his summer REU research.
Jun 2023: Jamaal Jackson from U South. Miss. joined us as a summer REU researcher. Welcome, Jamaal!
May 2023: Invited review article by Ridwan and Mehrdad published in Materials Chemistry Frontiers. Congrats!
Mar 2023: Our collaborative work is published in Small. Congrats, Haixin!
Mar 2023: We had so much fun giving a lab tour to the 35 students (>50% female) from Smithville Middle School, MS. Congrats for another great STEM outreach by Wang group. Science Rocks!
Feb 2023: Wang group members take part in the Science Night at the Museum 2023 at MSU. It's always so much fun desseminating science to the public, especially our bright next generation.
Feb 2023: Our recent research is highligted by Nature. Kudos to our group!
Feb 2023: Haixin's co-first author work accepted by Cell Report Physical Science. Congrats!
Jan 2023: Haixin's collaborative work published in Chemical Engineering Journal. Congrats!
Dec 2022: Our very own undergraduate researcher, Ian Bunker, published his first paper in Processes. Big Congrats, Ian!
Nov 2022: Collaborative work published in Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers. Congrats, Chaolong!
Nov 2022: Kun gave an invited talk at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) hosted by the University of Mississippi. Thanks for the invitation! Ridwan gave a successful poster presentation.
Aug 2022: Our collaborative work is accepted by Phys. Rev. Appl. Congrats!
Aug 2022: Our Prospective article on the single-molecule conductance switching effect is featured in MRS Communications Early Career Materials Researcher special issue. Congrats!
Jul 2022: Wang Group attended the Southern Soft Matter Symposium hosted by the School of Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Wang gave an invited talk. Thanks for the invitation and the wonderful organization. We learned a lot and really enjoyed it.
Jun 2022: Our Perspective Article entitled "Beyond Electrical Conductance: Progress and Prospects of Single-Molecule Junctions" is featured in Journal of Materials Chemistry C Emerging Investigator Themed Collection.
Jun 2022: Wang Group received MSU ORED Advancing Collaborative Research (ACR) Award. Congrats!
May 2022: Shaocheng Shen joined our group as a PhD student. Welcome on Board, Shaocheng
Mar 2022: Ian Bunker (our undergrad group member) has been admitted to the Accelerated Program at MSU Mechanical Engineering which permits him to take up to 9 hours of graduate-level courses during his final year of undergraduate studies. Congratulations and keep up the great work!
Feb 2022: Chaolong's review article on light-driven transport in molecular junctions has been published in Nanomaterials and selected as Editor's Choice. Congrats!
Oct 2021: Our collaborative work on superconductivity and topological properties of MgB2-Type diborides has been published in Phys. Rev. B.
Oct 2021: Dr. Wang served as Lead Guest Editor for a newly launched special issue entitled "Transport and Energy Conversion at the Nanoscale and Molecular Scale" in Processes (IF: 3.36). The submission is now open.
Oct 2021: Wang Group received MSU ORED Undergraduate Research Funding to support our talented undergrad researchers.
Aug 2021: Mehrdad Shiri joined our group as a PhD student. Welcome on board, Mehrdad!
Aug 2021: Ian Bunker (undergrad student) attended MSU ORED Undergrad Research Symposium and did a great job showcasing his research progress over the summer. Well Done, Ian !
Jun 2021: Wang Group members spent the morning at the Needmore Community Center in Starkville, MS showing kids some fun experiments about light and color.
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Jun 2021: Dr. Wang, Ian, Katlyn and Rajesh participated in developing and editing a scientific video that aims to introduce interesting phenomena about light to K-12 school students. This video has been sent to local middle schools in Starkville, Mississippi. The video is available in our Outreach Activities.
May 2021: Our group receives the U.S. DOE Early Career Award. Congrats to the Group !
May 2021: Haixin Zhang joins our group as a PhD student. Welcome on board !
May 2021: Katlyn received the Undergraduate Student Summer Research Funding from Deparment of Physics and Astronomy. Congrats, Katlyn.
May 2021: Katlyn Grimes joins our group as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Katlyn !
May 2021: Ian won Undergraduate Student Summer Research Funding of Deparment of Chemistry. Congrats, Ian !
Apr 2021: Ridwan won the "Rising Star TA Award" of Deparment of Chemistry. Congrats, Ridwan !
Apr 2021: Our collaborative work entitled "Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Nanowires on the Surface by Metallo-Supramolecular Truncated Cuboctahedra" has been accepted for publication in J. Am. Chem. Soc. Congrats !
Mar 2021: Ridwan Ayinla joined us as a PhD student. Welcome on board, Ridwan !
Feb 2021: Our collaborative work entitled "Nanodevices engineering and spin transport properties of MnBi2Te4 monolayer" was accepted for publication in NPJ Computational Materials.
Feb 2021: Dr. Wang joins the Editorial Board of Thermoelectric Materials for Frontiers in Electronic Materials.
Dec 2020: Ian Bunker joined us as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Ian !
Dec 2020: Wang Group received MSU SRI Faculty Seed Funding to initiate a collaborative project. Congrats !
Nov 2020: Dr. Wang gave an invited talk at the virtual (Bio)Molecular Electronics Colloquia hosted by University of Liverpool (UK). Thanks for the invitation and for providing such a wonderful channel for communication during the pandemic !
Oct 2020: Rajesh Shrestha joined us as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Rajesh !
Oct 2020: Wang Group received MSU ORED Undergraduate Research Funding to support our talented undergraduate researchers. Congrats !
Sep 2020: Our collaborative work with Dr. Xiaopeng Li's group at University of South Florida was accepted by Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
Aug 2020: Wang Lab at Mississippi State University is officially launched ! We welcome talented and motivated students and scholars to join us.