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Jianli Hu is chair professor and the director of Shale Gas Center at West Virginia University. He leads an interdisciplinary faculty team carrying out cutting-edge research in natural gas conversion as well as renewable energy utilization.

Hu has demonstrated strong leadership in partnering with national laboratories in the United States and industrial companies to undertake a number of research projects funded by U.S. federal agencies. These research projects span across the fields of reaction engineering, surface chemistry, heterogeneous catalysis, plasma and microwave-enhanced catalytic reactions. Specifically, his research group at WVU is focused on microwave catalysis approaches to produce ammonia from renewable power under low pressure and temperature, chemicals and carbon nanomaterials from natural gas.

Prior to joining WVU, Hu worked as a research leader at Koch Industries, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and BP Oil. While working in industry, he led efforts in developing technologies for petroleum refineries and future biorefineries using biomass as a feedstock. The efforts had led to a number of acquisitions that facilitated technology commercialization. He has been granted 31 U.S. patents and published more than 150 journal articles, conference proceedings, technical reports and book chapters.

Dr. Hu has been serving as an editor and a guest-editor for a number of peer-reviewed technical journals and one book. He has served in a number of industrial advisory boards including AIChE RAPID focus area lead. He has been chairing the "Advanced Fossil Energy Utilization” in AIChE national meetings.

At the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Hu was among the key contributors in developing microchannel catalytic reactor technology which led to NASA Technology Brief Awards. Hu received his B.S. in chemistry and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Tsinghua University in China and completed his postdoctoral training at University of Pittsburgh.