Meet Felix Wu: Materials Program Manager, Vehicle Technologies Office

The Vehicle Techonolgies Office’s communications team sat down with Felix Wu, program manager for VTO’s Materials Program, to learn how he got into materials research.  VTO’s Materials Program includes research on propulsion and lightweight materials, as well as joining.

 I joined the Vehicle Technologies Office at DOE EERE in January 2016 as the Materials Technology Program Manager.

After I received my M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University and my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University I started my career as a Senior Research Leader working on fiber-reinforced composites in the materials industry (ALCOA and Owens Corning) with aerospace and automotive applications. After working in industry for 14 years, I went to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and worked as a Senior Program Manager  for 15 years. I later worked as the Senior Director in the Office of Research and Economic Development at a university for a few years before I joined the DOE EERE Vehicle Technologies Office. 

My areas of expertise are in advanced materials, fibers, polymers, composites, manufacturing, nano-materials/structures, sensor and sensor networks, non-destructive evaluation/structural health monitoring, civil infrastructure, and biomaterials/biomedical devices.

I am interested in leveraging materials technology with other vehicle technologies within the VTO to improve fuel economy, increase America's mobility and energy security, and save consumers and businesses money. As a forward thinker with out-of-the-box ideas, I enjoy pursuing interagency collaborative research to further maximize technology innovation and their benefits.

The VTO collaborates with industry, academia, and national laboratories to develop and deploy advanced vehicle technologies, including highly efficient advanced combustion engines, lightweight materials, electrification through advanced batteries, and smart mobility/autonomous vehicles. These technologies can lead to significant fuel economy improvements and replace oil with domestic fuels, setting the foundation for clean, efficient, sustainable, and cost-competitive vehicles. 

I enjoy visiting my daughter, who is currently teaching at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ. When I'm there, I enjoy taking walks with my grand-dog, Noah, and playing with my new granddaughter. I also enjoy hiking and visiting national and state parks such as the Grand Canyon and Sedona Red Rock State Park. At home, I enjoy watching Chinese and Korean dramas with my wife.