Physics grad student excels in science competition

June 16, 2015

Huang is third from the right.

Wenxiao Huang, a graduate student in physics professor David Carroll’s research lab, was part of the team that won the final four in the BASF 150^th Anniversary North American Science Competition.

Huang teamed up with University of Connecticut collaborators to come up with innovative, lightweight solutions to tackle challenges of a sustainable future.

Overall, this science competition encourages ideas from young researchers who recently joined or will soon become a part of the creative workforce. BASF invited Ph.D. students and young researchers to submit their innovative and game-changing ideas that address global challenges in three areas: Food, Smart Energy and Urban Living.

Huang and his team proposed “Reinforced cellulose for sustainable structures” as a green construction and transportation materials to resolve the future environmental impact of a growing urban population. As a finalist team, they entered the “proof of concept” stage of the competition and presented their project at BASF North America headquarters at Florham Park, N.J., on June 5. BASF is the largest chemical producer in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany.