Associate Investigators

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Dr Shanghai Wei

Dr Shanghai Wei

Associate Investigator

Towards Zero Carbon - Catalytic Architectures

Address:
Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering
University of Auckland
5 Grafton Road
Auckland 1010

Biography

Shanghai Wei completed his PhD on magnesium alloys in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Auckland in 2014. From 2014 to 2016, he worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Auckland, focusing on nano-structured materials, nanocomposite coatings, and Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis. From 2016 until the end of 2022, he was employed as a Key Research Technologist at the New Zealand Product Accelerator—a national research programme—working closely with both researchers and industry partners to develop technology platforms for maximum economic benefit to New Zealand.

In early 2019, he established his research group after receiving a Marsden Fast-Start Grant. Since the end of 2022, he has returned full-time to the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, where he leads a research group developing advanced materials and sustainable energy technologies to support New Zealand’s decarbonisation efforts and promote sustainability across the marine, manufacturing, and energy sectors.

Research interests

Shanghai's research interests focus on designing and developing advanced alloys and nanostructured materials for energy storage and electrocatalyst applications. Specifically, he is intrigued by the structural, mechanical, and electrochemical behaviour of advanced alloys and nanostructured materials.

My first name, Shanghai, is pronounced the same as the city of Shanghai in China, but the Chinese character and meaning of Shang are different. In my name, Shang comes from my family tree and means "to value" and "to esteem," while Hai means "ocean" or "sea." Just like my name, I have a deep love for the sea and a lifelong dream of using my knowledge and research skills to protect the ocean, promoting green growth and sustainable development.

Dr Shanghai Wei

In the news

Annual Report

2025 Funding successes - Annual Report 2025

June 7, 2026

Funding successes for our Investigators and their research programmes during 2025.

Read more about 2025 Funding successes - Annual Report 2025

Annual Report

Growing and evolving our Investigator community - Annual Report 2025

May 31, 2026

We welcomed 13 new Investigators this year - 12 Associate Investigators and one Principal Investigator.

Read more about Growing and evolving our Investigator community - Annual Report 2025