Funded Researchers
Evelyn Wang
- Vice President for Energy and Climate
- Ford Professor of Engineering
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
Evelyn N. Wang, PhD, is the Vice President for Energy and Climate and the Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT. She previously served as Director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) from 2023-2025. At MIT, she developed technologies for thermal management, energy conversion and storage, and water harvesting and purification. She is a member of the National Academy of
Engineering, and Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
J-WAFS-funded projects
- Climate resilient greenhouses in water scarce and inarable environments
- Hybrid evaporative and radiative cooling as a passive low-cost high-performance solution for food shelf-life extension
- Distributed water harvesting from air in water-stressed and remote areas using metal-organic frameworks
Publications
- Significantly enhanced sub-ambient passive cooling enabled by evaporation, radiation, and insulation
- Dual-stage atmospheric water harvesting device for scalable solar-driven water production
News
- New MIT research projects aim to tackle real-world challenges in water and food
- J-WAFS PIs use hydrogels for water and food applications
- Past J-WAFS PI works to deliver transformative climate solutions
- Past J-WAFS PI Evelyn Wang is appointed inaugural vice president for climate
- Past J-WAFS PI elected to the National Academy of Engineering for 2025
- J-WAFS PI Evelyn Wang and collaborators develop novel solar desalination system
- J-WAFS PI Evelyn Wang develops a superabsorbent hydrogel material
- J-WAFS PI appointed director of U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
- J-WAFS funded project develops a passive cooling system for food preservation
- MIT researchers, including a past J-WAFS PI, design efficient new surfaces for boiling water
- MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering hosts its first Health of the Planet Showcase
- Evelyn Wang and team design a heat engine that absorbs and stores energy from renewable sources
- President Biden nominates J-WAFS PI for Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
- J-WAFS PI Evelyn Wang and team develop new solar-powered desalination system
- Five MIT faculty honored as 2021 AAAS Fellows
- Three J-WAFS PIs honored as AAAS Fellows
- J-WAFS PI Evelyn Wang & team discover new process to alter the wettability of surfaces
- Professor Evelyn Wang is receiving attention for her J-WAFS funded work that aims to improve water supply
- Novel passive-solar desalination system developed by J-WAFS PI Evelyn Wang