- 3037 NERC
- Phone (205) 348-0813
- Fax (205) 348-7558
- Faculty Website
Dr. James W. Harris
Assistant Professor, Hewson Engineering Faculty Fellow
Contact
- 3037 NERC
- phone (205) 348-0813
- fax (205) 348-7558
- Faculty Website
Research Areas
Education
- Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, 2017
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Virginia, 2012
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 ongoing 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 recently been awarded the Oak Ridge Affiliated Universities 2021-2022 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, the University of Alabama Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference’s Top Faculty Mentor award, and the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Doctoral New Investigator Award (2022).
His group’s research is supported by the ACS PRF, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Harris currently serves as a programming co-chair for the AIChE Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division, as an alternate councilor for the ACS Division of Catalysis Science and Technology, and as the President of the Southeastern Catalysis Society (SECS).
Affiliated Areas
Chemical and Biological Engineering, Polymers and Soft Materials Research Center
Selected Publications
- Alexander P. Minne, Tristan Maxson, Tibor Szilvási, James W. Harris*, “Selective Vapor-Phase Formation of Dimethylformamide via Oxidative Coupling of Methanol and Dimethylamine over Bimetallic Catalysts,” Catalysis Science & Technology, 14, 2024, 1534-1539
- Shivangi Borate, Nohor “River” Samad, Junyan Zhang, Michael J. Cordon, Andrew D. Sutton, Zhenglong Li, James W. Harris*, “Quantification of Active Sites in Yttrium Containing Dealuminated Beta Zeolites During Conversion of Ethanol and Acetaldehyde to Butadiene,” Journal of Catalysis, 433, 2024, 115468
- Sydney E. Foster, Sophia Ezendu, Shuai Qian, Tibor Szilvási, Jason E. Bara, James W. Harris*, “Ether Functional Groups Enable Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Aliphatic Secondary Alcohols in Water,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 63, 2024, 13525-13535.
- Ethan P. Iaia, Jenna L. Groeber, Ambar Shrestha, Ademola Soyemi, Ganesh Rana, Amit Chowdhury, Charles R. Diemer, Tibor Szilvási, Martin G. Bakker, James W. Harris*, “Synthesis and Characterization of Metal Phthalocyanine Complexes Encapsulated in Faujasite Zeolites as Selective Oxidation Catalysts,” ACS Applied Nano Materials, 7, 2024, 18824-18840.
- Alexander P. Minne, Ethan P. Iaia, Eli Stavitski, James W. Harris*, “Impact of Particle Size on the Oxidative Coupling of Methanol and Dimethylamine over Palladium-Gold Nanoparticles.” ACS Catalysis, 14, 2024, 17209-17225
Awards and Honors
- Programming Co-chair, Catalysis and Reactions Engineering Division, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, November 2023
- Executive Board Alternate Councilor, American Chemical Society, November 2023
- NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, December 2024
- Pioneer of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering, AIChE CRE Division, 2024
- ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award, ACS PRF, 2022
- Ralph E. Power Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, ORAU, 2021
- Top Mentor of Undergraduate Researchers, UA URCA, 2021
Dr. Harris's Impact
Bama Abroad: Chemical and Biological Engineering Faculty Travel to Nigeria for Recruiting Trip
With an enrollment number of more than 5,000, the UA College of Engineering is home to students from countless states and countries across the globe. As such, one of the...
UA Researchers Hope to Spur Adoption of Greener Jet Fuel
Engineering researchers at The University of Alabama are spearheading a project to demonstrate an innovative method to create jet fuel from plants, helping the airline industry meet goals for using...
Two UA Researchers Receive NSF Grant to Study Precise Catalysts That Can Reduce Industrial Carbon Footprint
Two University of Alabama faculty are joining forces to advance their research with help from recently received grant money. Dr. James Harris, chemical and biological engineering assistant professor, and Dr....