Leanne Chen

Education and Employment Background

Prof. Leanne Chen received her PhD in Computation Chemistry from Stanford University, where she focused on unravelling the discharge mechanisms of batteries and the second-order effects of electrolyte in catalysis under the tutelage of Jens K. Nørskov. She then moved to the California Institute of Technology for her Postdoctoral Scholarship and further augmented her training in the group of Thomas F. Miller III. Prof. Chen joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Guelph as an Assistant Professor in 2020.

Research Themes

Prof. Chen is the lead for the Computational Electrochemistry Lab where her research program focuses on using renewably-generated electricity to drive chemical processes for energy storage that could reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and carbon dioxide release from energy sources. Key research themes include:

1. Ab initio computational methods to model reactions occurring at the electrode-electrolyte double-layer. The electrode-electrolyte double layer is arguably the most important component in an electrochemical cell. Gaining atomic-scale insight at this interface will have an immense impact on the rational design of fuel cells, batteries, and other energy transformation systems such as electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction.

Highlights

• Member of the Editorial Advisory Board, Electrochemical Science Advances, 2020
• Gordon Research Seminar in Catalysis Presentation Award, 2018
• North American Catalysis Society Kokes Award, 2017
• NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-D3), 2013

Instrumentation

• Compute Canada Advanced Research Computing Systems
• Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package

Media Coverage

• CEPS News: Earth Day 2020