Hui Wang Awarded China's Top Honor for Overseas Grad Students

Hui Wang, a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering, is the first student at Michigan Technological University to receive the highly prestigious China National Award for Outstanding Graduate Students Abroad.

The award honors outstanding academic achievement and is extremely competitive. All of China's graduate students studying abroad can apply, but no more than 500 awards are granted. In 2012, 489 students were recognized.

A total of 149 graduate students in the US received the award, including four from Michigan: Wang, one student from Michigan State University and two from University of Michigan.

Wang, who received $6,000, is advised by Yun Hang Hu, the Charles and Caroll McArthur Professor. Her work focuses on the use of graphene to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic cells.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.