Published: April 13, 2023 By

Haichao WuIn 2021 Haichao Wu was recognized for his outstanding dissertation by CU Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science. Today Wu (PhD'21, CHEN) is being recognized nationally for his dissertation work.

Wu is the winner of the 2023 Victor K. LaMer Award for Graduate Research in Colloid and Surface Chemistry. The award, given by the American Chemical Society Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry, recognizes an outstanding PhD dissertation, contributions to the field and the potential as an emerging leader in colloid and surface science. It is the most prestigious award given in that discipline to a young researcher. Previous winners of this award comprise some of the top people in the field. 

Wu, a former member of the Dan Schwartz Group and now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, submitted his dissertation, "Nanoparticle Tracking to Probe Transport in Porous Media," in 2021. Porous media — materials containing pores — are used in processes such as food processing, water treatment and pharmaceutical production. There are currently no universal models that can predict mass transport due to the complexity of porous media and the coupled dynamic mechanisms at work during the process.

In 2021 Wu won the CEAS Outstanding Dissertation Award. The award recognized the quality and excellence of Wu’s research as well as his dissertation presentation. 

The Victor K. LaMer award will be presented to Wu at the 2023 ACS Colloid & Surface Chemistry Symposium  to be held in Raleigh, North Carolina June 4-7. Wu will deliver an award lecture on June 7.