Lab Members

Wo Bin Bae

Postdoctoral Researcher (10/2024 - present)

Wo Bin Bae, originally from South Korea, completed his undergraduate education in Environmental Science and Engineering at the UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) in 2018. Furthermore, he did his M.S. and Ph.D. at the Environmental Catalysis Lab in GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology) in 2020 and 2024, respectively. Subsequently, he relocated to the United States to further his experience and knowledge in the field of environmental catalysis. Now, he is conducting his research under the supervision of Dr. Jun Hee Jang as a postdoctoral research associate at Rowan University. His research interests mainly focus on the design and development of environmental catalysts to convert lignocellulosic biomass or methane into valuable products (such as SAF or hydrogen).

Email: bae@rowan.edu

Christopher Acquah

Ph.D. Student (2023 Fall - present)

Christopher Acquah, originally from Ghana in West Africa, completed his undergraduate education in chemical engineering as a Mastercard Foundation Africa Scholar at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 2021. Following his graduation, Acquah served as an undergraduate teaching assistant within the Department of Chemical Engineering at KNUST. Subsequently, he relocated to the United States to advance his academic pursuits in the field of chemical engineering. Acquah enrolled in the doctoral program at Rowan University, where he is conducting research under the guidance of Dr. Jun Hee Jang. His research primarily focuses on the development of efficient and economically viable catalytic processes for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials.

Email: acquah27@students.rowan.edu

Kylie Howard (co-advised with Joseph Stanzione)

Ph.D. Student (2025 Spring - present)

Kylie Howard completed her undergraduate education in chemical engineering at Rowan University in May of 2023. Previously, she joined the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Institute (AMMI) as a research assistant in 2022, working primarily on bio-based polymeric materials. She was both an intern and environmental/health and safety engineer at Corning, Inc in Vineland, NJ. As well, she was a washcoat engineer for Johnson Matthey's Clean Air manufacturing site, producing catalytic converters. As of January 2025, she is beginning graduate studies in the Jang Group at Rowan University. Her research primarily focuses on heterogeneous catalysis for biorefinery technologies.

Email: howard26@students.rowan.edu

Jack Kleissler

Ph.D. Student (2026 Summer - present)

Jack Kleissler is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University, where he also completed his undergraduate studies. He joined the Jang Research Group during the 2024–2025 academic year and transitioned into the doctoral program in the summer of 2026. His current research focuses on designing selective catalysts for biomass conversion and developing biorefinery processes to directly convert biomass into bio-amines. Throughout his time in the group, Jack has been actively involved in catalyst synthesis, reaction experiments, and data analysis. His broader research interests lie in heterogeneous catalysis, sustainable fuel technologies, and biorefinery systems.

Email: kleiss39@students.rowan.edu

Evans Otieno Omondi

MS Student (2026 Spring - present)

Evans Omondi is originally from Kisumu, Kenya, in East Africa, and completed his undergraduate studies in Business Innovation Technology Management at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in 2021. Prior to graduating, he founded a technology company, Elite IT and Telecommunications Company, in 2017, focusing on software engineering, data analytics, and cybersecurity. He later relocated to the United States to further advance his education in cybersecurity and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Cybersecurity at Rowan University. Professionally, he has gained diverse experience, having previously worked as a Data Analyst at the Henry Rowan College of Engineering, while currently volunteering at Virtua Health as a Cybersecurity and Data Analytics Consultant in the Research Department. In addition, he serves as a Data Reporter and Analyst at Rowan Online. He is also actively involved in research under the supervision of Dr. Jun Hee Jang as a Research Assistant, where his work focuses on data cleaning, structuring, analysis, and software development, including the design and development of research software.

Email: omondi44@rowan.edu

Andrew Crain

Undergraduate Student

(2025-present)

Alternative diesel

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