Wenlai grew up in the central part of China (Xinyu, Jiangxi and later moved to Changsha, Hunan for high school). He later headed to the states for liberal arts education at Carleton College, expecting B.A. in Chemistry and Computer Science with a minor in Vocal Performance in June 2023. At Carleton, Wenlai is fortunate to conduct research in the synthesis and reactivity study of late-metal silylene complexes with Prof. Matt Whited, with a current focus on orthogonal binding in pincer-supported silylene systems for catalytic transformations. Interested in exploiting fundamental chemistry principles to facilitate interesting transformations, Wenlai headed to MIT for a 3-month summer research opportunity in Summer 2022 with Prof. Alison Wendlandt and Dr. Yuan Zhang to investigate selective amine epimerization. Outside of the lab, Wenlai enjoys singing, vlogging, cooking, and traveling.
Fun facts about Wenlai
- Due to the restriction of pets for on-campus residence (yes Carleton offers mandatory on-campus housing), he usually pets dogs and cats virtually.
- He has unusual high productivity during flights or on high-speed trains.
- Good food destresses him a ton.
Wenlai Han 