Eric D. Wachsman, Director of the University of Maryland Energy Research Center, is the William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research with appointments in both the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD).

Dr. Wachsman received his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Stanford University, and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to coming to UMD he was the Director of the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Florida, and a Senior Scientist at SRI International. He has more than 200 publications and 8 patents on ionic and electronic transport in materials, and their catalytic properties, and device performance. He is a Fellow of The Electrochemical Society and formerly Chair of the High Temperature Materials Division. In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief of Ionics, Editor of Energy Systems, formerly an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, former Councilor of the Florida Section of ACerS, and a member of the American Chemical Society, the International Society for Solid State Ionics, and the Materials Research Society. Dr. Wachsman is a frequent invited panelist on fuel cell and hydrogen energy research, ranging from the US Department of Energy “Fuel Cell Report to Congress” and “Basic Research Needs Related to High Temperature Electrochemical Devices for Hydrogen Production, Storage and Use,” to the National Science Foundation “Workshop on Fundamental Research Needs in Ceramics,” NATO “Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conducting (MIEC) Perovskites for Advanced Energy Systems,” and the National Academies “Global Dialogues on Emerging Science and Technologies.” He also serves on numerous boards and was appointed by the Governor to the Board of Directors of the Maryland Clean Energy Center.

Dr. Wachsman’s research is focused on solid ion-conducting materials and electrocatalysts, and includes the development of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), ion-transport membrane reactors, solid-state gas sensors, the electrocatalytic conversion of CH4, CO2, and NOx, using advanced ion conducting materials.