| Lai-Sheng Wang 王來生 | |
| Birth Date: | 1961 |
| Birth Place: | Henan, China |
| Citizenship: | United States |
| Alma Mater: | Wuhan University University of California, Berkeley Rice University |
| Workplaces: | Brown University |
| Fields: | Experimental Physical Chemistry |
| Known For: | Bucky-Balls, Golden Pyramids, Borophene |
| Children: | Selina Wang |
Lai-Sheng Wang (born 1961 in Henan, China) is an experimental physical chemist currently serving as the Chair of the Chemistry Department at Brown University.[1] Wang is known for his work on atomic gold pyramids and planar boron clusters.
Wang obtained a B.S. degree in chemistry from Wuhan University in 1982, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990. He completed his postdoctoral stay at Rice University before moving to Richland, WA in 1993 to accept a joint position between Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In 2009 he moved to Brown University, where he teaches physical chemistry and conducts research. He was named the Jesse H. and Louisa D. Sharpe Metcalf Professor of Chemistry in 2015 and Chair of the Department in 2019.[1]
Throughout his career, Wang has predominately studied nanoclusters and solution-phase chemistry in the gas phase, focusing on the fundamental behaviors of nanoclusters using photoelectron spectroscopy and computational techniques. With his group,[2] Wang has discovered golden bucky-balls and the smallest golden pyramid, as well as aromatic clusters and planar boron clusters. In addition, his group has pioneered spectroscopic studies in the gas-phase of free multiply-charged anions and solution-phase molecules, such as metal complexes, redox species, and biologically-relevant molecules. His group has also developed ion-trap techniques to create ultracold anions that allow high resolution photoelectron spectroscopy to be performed on complex molecules.
In 2014, Wang's a research team at Brown University showed that the structure of was not only possible but highly stable.[3] [4] [5] Photoelectron spectroscopy revealed a relatively simple spectrum, suggesting a symmetric cluster. Neutral B36 is the smallest boron cluster to have sixfold symmetry and a perfect hexagonal vacancy, and it can be viewed as a potential basis for extended two-dimensional boron sheets.[6] [7]
Wang has published over 530 articles, which have been featured in publications such as Nature Magazine, Science, Physical Review Letters, Angewandte Chemie, and the Journal of the American Chemical Society.