News

Prof. Ong Wee Jun, the Director of Center of Excellence for NaNo Energy & Catalysis Technology (CONNECT) and the Assistant Dean from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM), was selected as a 2024 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate (Web of Science) (Cross-Field), as one of the 4 awardees only from Malaysia this year.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Prof. Ong Wee Jun has earned this honor, highlighting his sustained contributions to nanomaterials and clean energy research. Since 2013, Prof. Ong Wee Jun has published over 160 SCI articles and 3 book chapters, with an h-index of 68 and a total of over 23,500 citations. Among all his publications, 24 of his works were selected as Web of Science Top 1% Highly Cited Paper.

Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers list recognizes scientists whose research ranks among the top 1 percent worldwide, based on citation data from the Web of Science Core Collection over the past decade.

In 2024, 6,886 scientists from nearly 60 countries and regions were included, following a rigorous selection process that combines quantitative metrics with qualitative analysis. Being highly cited in the papers of other researchers is an indication of the influence of a scientist’s published work on the greater scientific community.

11 other academics from Xiamen University, China won this recognition for their outstanding research achievements.

Prof. Ong Wee Jun, honored with this distinction in 2024, attributes his success to the exceptional efforts of his research team, mentors, and funding supporters (MOSTI, MOHE, PETRONAS, NanoMalaysia, etc.), as well as the support from XMUM’s top management.

“Six years in a row on the global highly cited researcher list showcases the consistent performance of CONNECT at XMUM,”Prof. Ong Wee Jun said, “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to my research team for their tireless efforts over the years in pursuing high-impact publications, securing patents, and most importantly, obtaining significant funding to translate our research into prototypes and commercial-scale applications. Their contributions have been salient in propelling our group to the forefront of energy, nanotechnology, and nanocatalysis.”

Beyond publications, Prof. Ong Wee Jun emphasized the importance of transforming research findings into technologies with real-world applications. “We are partnering with the national agency and ministry to develop an inaugural scalable, clean hydrogen production and storage ecosystem within the next two years, driving a transformative leap toward sustainability,” he shares.

As a chemical engineer, Prof. Ong Wee Jun is passionate about advancing nanocatalysis to enable sustainable chemical transformations by activating small molecules such as O2, CO2, H2O, and CH4. His team is pioneering artificial photosynthesis systems to generate renewable fuels, offering innovative solutions to global energy challenges and contributing to a sustainable future.

Prof. Ong Wee Jun’s commitment to innovation and mentorship exemplifies leadership in both research excellence and societal impact. Under his guidance, CONNECT continues to push boundaries, fostering groundbreaking solutions to pressing energy and environmental challenges. Earlier this year, Prof. Ong was also recognized for the sixth consecutive year as one of the World’s Top 2% Scientists by SCOPUS/Elsevier in both the career-long and single-year categories.

As the Director of CONNECT, Prof. Ong Wee Jun currently supervises 7 Master’s students, 4 PhD candidates, and one postdoctoral research fellow. He is actively recruiting several postgraduate (Master’s of PhD) students as well as research fellows and research engineers/assistants at CONNECT starting in early 2025 for the following cutting-edge projects at CONNECT at XMUM. This is in collaboration with NanoMalaysia Berhad and PETRONAS Malaysia, contributing to advancements in prototype and commercial energy technology in Malaysia and beyond. 

Project 1 - Scalable Free-standing Graphene and Hydrogen Production from Methane Cracking via Atmospheric Microwave Plasma

Project 2 - Achieving a Zero Carbon Footprint through Nature-Inspired Carbon Dioxide Conversion via Electrocatalysis and Photocatalysis

Project 3 - Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Cycle: Transforming Nitrate into Sustainable Ammonia as Hydrogen Carrier

Project 4 - Scale-up of Catalytic Hydrogen Production and Storage for Clean Energy Devices

Click here to get more information about the projects. Click the links (Google webpage and XMUM webpage) to know more about Prof. Ong Wee Jun and his research group.

If you are interested to work in the aforementioned projects, kindly contact Prof. Ong Wee Jun for further discussion (weejun.ong@xmu.edu.my).