Yu Huang, a professor of materials science and engineering and holder of the Traugott and Dorothea Frederking Endowed Chair at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, has been awarded a 2025 Global Energy Prize for her pioneering work in the field of catalyst development. She is the first UCLA faculty member and the first woman to win the award in the non-conventional energy category since the prize was established in 2003.
“I’m deeply honored and truly humbled to receive this prestigious award from the Global Energy Association,” Huang said. “My group develops designer catalysts and, more importantly, we work to bridge the gap between discovery and deployment, turning new materials into working for energy conversion and storage.”
The Global Energy Association, which administers the annual prizes, selected a trio of 2025 awardees for their work advancing energy-related science and technology. Huang was honored for her “innovations in the field of catalyst development, which significantly improve the profitability, durability and performance of fuel cells.”
Huang joined UCLA in 2006 and directs the Huang Research Group, which explores the mechanistic understanding of nanoscale phenomena to address green energy applications in catalysis, fuel cells and materials synthesis. Leveraging the distinctive roles of nanoscale surfaces and interfaces, Huang is creating methodologies and applying them across a wide range of materials and technologies.
For more information, visit the Samueli School of Engineering website.
