Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Adds Biological Physicist to Faculty

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Seymour Wang

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Feng “Seymour” Wang will join the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences this fall as an associate professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry. Wang earned the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award in 2007, and he has garnered grants from the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

“Dr. Wang's research focuses on developing new methodologies for accurate development of force fields for molecular mechanics simulations, free energy determination and enhanced sampling,” said Bob Gawley, distinguished professor of chemistry and chair of the department. “His interdisciplinary approach to computational chemistry will provide many new opportunities for collaboration.” 

Wang served as the co-editor of a special edition of Journal of Biological Physics. He earned the 2010 Hewlett Packard Outstanding Junior Faculty Award from American Chemical Society.

“Coming to the University of Arkansas is a great opportunity,” said Wang. “It will be a completely different experience from the other places I’ve studied and worked, and I look forward to getting to know the students and my new colleagues.”

After conducting post-doctoral research in computational physical chemistry at the University of Utah, Wang joined the faculty at the Boston University. He published 23 articles and supervised the completion of four dissertations during his time there.

Wang has been an invited speaker and contributor to professional organizations and academic conferences including the American Chemical Society’s national meetings. He has served as a panelist and a grant reviewer for both the National Science Foundation and the National Research Council. He has also reviewed grants for the Petroleum Research Fund.

Wang earned a bachelor of science in chemistry from Peking University (1998) and a doctorate in theoretical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh (2003).