By David Li, bostonese.com with reference information from U.R.I. Department of Chemical Engineering website.
Dr. Peng Wang, a 2004 PhD graduate from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Columbia University was involved in a fatal automobile accident on his way to work in Rhode Island on February 6, 2012. He was the husband of Ran Luo and the father of seven-month old Carolyn Wang.
Dr. Wang was born in Loudi, Hunan, China in 1975. He was an outstanding student, and earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. In the eyes of his co-workers and friends, Dr. Wang was an outstanding scientist and loving husband and father.
At University of RI, Peng worked with Prof. Jeffrey Koberstein on the modification of polymer surfaces while at Columbia and following a brief stint in industry, was a postdoctoral associate at both the University of Michigan and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
In September 2010, Dr. Wang was appointed Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Rhode Island where he had an active research program in pharmaceutical processing.
A memorial service was held for Dr. Wang on February 18, 2012 and was attended by friends and associates from all over the world as well as many of his students. In an email message to Hunan New England Association members, Mr. Zhenke Liu, also a graduate from Tsinghua University, urged fellow Hunanese to donate to Carolyn Wang’s education fund. Donations can be made at http://tsinghua.org/donate.