Dr. Nien Hwa Wang

Biography

Professor Nien-Hwa Linda Wang is a prominent figure in the field of Chemical Engineering, with over four decades of experience since joining Purdue University in 1980. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from National Taiwan University, a Master of Science degree from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests center around chemical and biochemical separations, primarily focusing on adsorption chromatography processes. Professor Wang's work aims to develop highly selective techniques that produce pure materials with consistent size, shape, and surface properties. She employs a mix of theoretical analyses, computer simulations, and experimental studies to tackle key issues in the development of novel, cost-effective, large-scale adsorption processes. Collaborating with industry and national laboratories, her research group is actively engaged in creating advanced simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography processes to recover non-biodegradable chemicals from various biochemical sources, including sugars, antibiotics, anticancer drugs, amino acids, peptides, and proteins. Professor Wang has a particular interest in utilizing standing concentration waves to optimize the design and operation of SMB systems for multicomponent fractionation. She is also focused on the systematic design optimization of SMB processes based on detailed analyses of intra-column and extra-column mass transfer effects, contributing significantly to advancements in this important area of Chemical Engineering.

Research Interests