James Harris

James_Harris

James W. Harris received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2012 and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 2017. Harris joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at The University of Alabama as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2019. His research group is involved in projects related to the responsible use of energy carriers for production of fuels and chemicals. Professor Harris is particularly interested in catalysis occurring over metal surfaces whose properties evolve as a function of their environment, and over sites confined within the pores of zeolites. Professor Harris has been awarded the Oak Ridge Affiliated Universities Ralph E. Powe Award, the University of Alabama Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference's "Top Faculty Mentor" award, the American Chemical Society's Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Doctoral New Investigator Award, and was named a "Pioneer of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering" by the AIChE CRE Division in 2024. Harris was selected to the inaugural class of "Hewson Engineering faculty Fellows" by The University of Alabama in 2024. His group's research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Harris serves as the programming co-chair for the AIChE CRE Division, as an alternate councilor for the ACS CATL division, and as the President of the Southeastern Catalysis Society (SECS). In his spare time, Dr. Harris enjoys cycling and playing tennis.