David Wang

B.S., University of Chicago, 2026

David grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. He attended college at the University of Chicago, where he originally planned to major in math and political science. After completing general chemistry, David realized his error and switched political science out for a chemistry degree. In undergrad, David worked in the lab of Wenbin Lin, and contributed to projects on MOF and COF photocatalysts for C-C coupling and ROS generation. Excited by the versatility of photoredox catalysis, David decided to pursue his graduate studies at Princeton, and joined the MacMillan group in August 2026. Outside of lab, David enjoys reading history, exploring the outdoors, and being part of amateur theater productions.

Fun Facts

• Fisher Scientific operates a large chemical storage and processing center on the other side of the railroad line near David's childhood home. David found this out when he read a Safety Data Sheet and was startled to find his home zip code in the contact information.
• In high school, David was torn between Princeton and UChicago when applying for college. He chose UChicago on the advice of his math teacher, who attended Princeton for undergrad and UChicago for his PhD.
• David resents the disrespect that is shown to his native state. He thinks a place that gave the world Meryl Streep, Jon Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, and Danny DeVito deserves more credit.
• David has played the piano on and off for almost 16 years. Distressingly, he peaked in high school.