On March 9, the U.S. Department of Energy responded to President Biden's intended nomination of Dr. Evelyn Wang for director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

“I am elated that President Biden has nominated Dr. Evelyn Wang to serve as director of DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. "Throughout Evelyn’s outstanding career, she has overseen groundbreaking research in heat-transfer technology that has advanced clean energy and clean water solutions. Having her experience and expertise at the helm of ARPA-E will help solidify DOE’s role as an engine of scientific innovation and a key player in the effort to address climate change. I am deeply grateful for Evelyn’s willingness to serve and I look forward to her speedy confirmation."

Wang's research combines heat and mass transport processes with nanoengineered materials to create clean energy and water solutions, according to the DOE's statement. She is also a leading researcher in phase-change heat transfer, which has a variety of applications such as thermal reduction, thermal batteries, water harvesting and desalination.

Wang is a California native who earned her Bachelor of Science degree from MIT and both her Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. She has worked as a researcher at Bell Laboratories, Alcatel-Lucent, and currently serves as the head of the mechanical engineering department at MIT and as the Ford professor of engineering.