Jianhua "Joshua" Tong

Jianhua

Professor

Phone: (864) 656-4954
Office: 162A Sirrine Hall
E-mail: jianhut@clemson.edu
Website: Tong Group

Overview

Joshua Tong is currently a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Clemson University. He earned his Ph.D. in 2002 from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China). Prior to joining Clemson in 2016, he had been working in the energy field for multiple years at some prestigious institutions such as the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (Japan), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, University of Cincinnati (US), California Institute of Technology (US), and the Colorado School of Mines (US).

His research encompasses the creation, synthesis, and characterization of energy materials, as well as the design, fabrication, manufacturing, testing, and application of energy devices. The processing techniques include direct laser reactive additive manufacturing of ceramics, metal alloys, and ceramic/metal composites, laser sintering/synthesis/machining, solid-state reactive sintering, and ultrasonic spray coating. The applications include resilient and efficient energy conversion/storage, fuel processing, membrane separation, natural gas utilization, isotope separation, and recycling of critical materials. Modern AI/ML-related tools are used to accelerate all his research. As PI or Co-PI, he led and participated in over $20 million worth of projects supported by multiple DOE offices, ARPA-E, Army, NASA, NSF, and industry. He has extensive collaborations with National Labs (SRNL, ORNL, INL, LLNL, SNL, and LANL). He has published over 120 peer-reviewed papers and 6 book chapters and filed 15 patents. His publications have been cited over 10,000 times so far (2025).

Education

Ph.D., Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science (2002)
M.S., Dalian University of Technology (1998)
B.S., Liaoning Shihua University (1995)

Research Areas

  • Energy Materials and Devices
  • Advanced Manufacturing (e.g., direct laser reactive additive manufacturing, ultrasonic spray coating)
  • Efficient Energy Conversion/Storage, Fuel Processing, and Natural Gas Utilization
  • Critical Materials Separation and Recycling
  • Autonomous High-Throughput Experimentation
  • AI/ML Assisted Materials Discovery and Device Design/Manufacturing
Honors and Awards
  1. McQueen Quattlebaum Faculty Achievement Award, CECAS, Clemson University (2024).
  2. David and Mary Ann Bishop Dean’s Professorship Award, CECAS, Clemson University (2020–2022).
  3. University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Award (URSAAA), Clemson University (2019).
  4. American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund New Direction Award, 2017-2019.
  5. Ross Coffin Purdy Award, the American Ceramic Society (2017).
  6. Outstanding Alumni Lecture. Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2011).
  7. JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion (2004–2005).

Selected Publications

  1. Huang, T. Zhou, J. Conrad, M. Zou, S. Mu, J. Tang, Y. Meng, Z. Zhao, F. Peng, H. Xiao, K. Brinkman, J. Tong*, Scalable, durable, and high-performance protonic ceramic fuel cell stacks manufactured by direct laser reactive additive manufacturing, Device, Volume 3, Issue 8, 100840 (2025).
  2. Zhou, H. Huang, Y. Meng, J. Conrad, M. Zou, Z. Zhao, K. Brinkman, J. Tong*, Significantly Enhanced Performance of Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells by Laser Engineering the Electrolyte/Cathode Interface, ACS Energy Letters, 9, 9, 4557-4563 (2024).
  3. Zou, J. Conrad, B. Sheridan, J. Zhang, H. Huang, S. Mu, T. Zhou, Z. Zhao, K.S. Brinkman, H. Xiao, F. Peng, J. Tong*, 3D Printing Enabled Highly Scalable Tubular Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells, ACS Energy Letters, 8, 8, 3545-3551 (2023).
  4. Zhao, M. Zou, H. Huang, X. Zhai, H. Wofford, J. Tong*, Insight of BaCe0.5Fe0.5O3-δ Twin Perovskite Oxide Composite for Solid Oxide Electrochemical Cells. Journal of American Ceramic Society, 106, 186-200 (2023).
  5. Han, J. Zhang, M. Zou, J. Tong*, Toward superb perovskite oxide electrocatalysts: Engineering of coupled nanocomposites. Small, 18, 2204784 (2022).