Carl Wang is driven to empower UL Solutions’ customers to find their “Why?” Whether a customer is looking for answers about why a product failed or why a testing protocol is conducted a certain way, Carl and his team stand ready to apply safety and applied science and find answers to the product development and compliance challenges of innovators worldwide.
As a director of the Innovation and Applied R&D (R&D) team at UL Solutions, Carl provides technical leadership and rich experience in material science, including engineered materials and electrochemical systems, with a focus on battery safety. He oversees R&D operations for materials, encompassing chemical, environmental, biochemical and toxicological aspects, as well as evaluation of battery safety and performance of electrochemical systems.
Recognized for technical leadership excellence
Carl earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at prestigious universities. He later attended the University of Southern California, where he earned a Ph.D. in aerospace and mechanical engineering. Carl expanded his leadership skills at the Yale School of Management through UL Solutions’ Executive Leadership Program.
In his nearly 20 years at UL Solutions, Carl’s perspective has been informed through hands-on work with an array of global customers, governmental organizations, and in-house scientific experts. His technical expertise and achievements in advancing safety science have earned him Corporate Fellow status in William Henry Merrill Society, an achievement bestowed on fewer than 50 employees across the UL enterprise.
His team empowers our customers to continue innovating with safety in mind. Where development is out of alignment with current test methods, Carl is adept at marshalling R&D methodologies to address challenges. He takes a customer-centric approach, grounded in collaboration, rooted in flexibility, to support new ideas, such as lithium-ion safety advancements to the performance of engineered materials in low- to high-voltage environments.
Applying R&D to inspire life-changing safety advancements
Alongside other UL Solutions R&D professionals, Carl participated in a landmark project in coordination with the National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing. In 2011 and 2012, a pattern of smoking and burning in the backup energy for the Dreamliner model resulted in the grounding of dozens of aircraft. UL Solutions led the investigation at the behest of the NTSB. Engineers, including Carl, uncovered the true cause of the incidents allowing Boeing to take concrete steps to remedy this life-threatening issue.
A staunch defender of third-party impartiality, Carl is committed to meeting each customer’s R&D needs with individualized focus and care. He and his team are world-class adapters of known and novel test methods to help manufacturers transform possibility into practicality, drive internal capabilities and service offerings, and support the important work of principal engineers bringing new and updated standards to markets in constant flux.
“Our customers look to us for answers — and we must be prepared to respond. We transform knowledge accumulated through our work around the world through the lens of applied R&D to go beyond testing and certification to help customers understand more about safety, what’s needed to advance product performance, and how to showcase their innovation to new markets.” - Carl Wang
Recent speaking engagements
- Taipei City Government Fire Department Bureau Affairs Meeting, Keynote address, “Challenges in battery safety.” December 9, 2025. Taipei, Taiwan
- Energy & Critical Materials, Asia-Pacific Circular Economy Hotspot, Panelist. October 22, 2025. Taipei, Taiwan
- International Energy Storage Forum: The 5th TESTA Annual Symposium – Technology Advancement Towards Battery Safety. Presenter, “Safety science research into lithium-ion batteries.” July 4, 2025, Bangkok, Thailand
- 2025 Thermal Runaway Incident Program (TRIP) Summit, Panelist, May 23, 2025. UL Standards & Engagement, Singapore
- D-Forum 2025 - GenAI, Presenter, “AI Safety – The evolving safety concerns form physical to AI,” May 22, 2025. Taipei, Taiwan
- New Energy Fire Prevention, Rescue and Response Forum, Presenter, “The Safety Concerns of Lithium-ion Batteries” April 24, 2025. National Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior, Taipei, Taiwan.
- The 3rd New Energy Industry Chain Conference, Panel Moderator, March 20, 2025. UL Solutions, Suzhou, China
Awards and honors
- Corporate Fellow, UL William Henry Merrill Society (Class of 2019)
- UL Solutions Mark of Excellence Award
- 2021 – Participation in Standards development for hoverboard safety
- 2016 — Investigation of Samsung Note 7 failure
- 2014 — Boeing 787 Dreamliner Battery investigation for the NTSB
Connect with Carl Wang
Selected publications
- K. H. Yen and C. K. Wang. 2023. Safety Considerations for Hydrogen Storage. The 18th National Conference on Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell－HEFC2023, Hualien, Taiwan.
- K. H. Yen and C. K. Wang. 2022. Risk Evaluation for Safety of Hydrogen Applications. The 8th IEEE International Conference on Applied System Innovation (IEEE ICASI 2022), Nantou, Taiwan.
- K. H. Yen and C. K. Wang. 2021, Development of Durometer Hardness for Condition Monitoring of Solar Cables. The 10th International Multi-Conference on Engineering and Technology Innovation 2021 (IMETI 2021), Taoyuan, Taiwan.
- K. H. Yen and C. K.Wang. 2021. Insight into Reclamation Technologies of Lithium Ion Batteries. International Conference on Mechatronic, Automobile, and Environmental Engineering 2021 (ICMAEE 2021), Hualien, Taiwan.
- K. H. Yen and C. K. Wang. 2019. Analysis of Tracking Tests on Polymeric Insulating Materials. The Eighth International Multi-Conference on Engineering and Technology Innovation 2019 (IMETI 2019) Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- K. H. Yen and C. K. Wang. 2019. Review and Assessment of Sensors for Wearable Sensing System in Healthcare, IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics, Taiwan (IEEE ICCE-TW 2019), Yilan, Taiwan.
- A. Wu, Lillian Chen, D. Wu, C. K. Wang, 2016. Explore the Failure Mechanism(s) in Lithium-Ion Batteries By Forensic Analysis Techniques, The Electrochemical Society Meeting, MA2016-03, Chicago, Illinois.
- K. H. Yen and C. K. Wang. 2016. Material Property Assessment of Thermoplastic by Fused Deposition Modelin. The 2nd International Conference on Computing and Precision Engineering (ICCPE 2016), Kenting, Taiwan.
- A. Wu, D. Wu, C. K. Wang, 2015. Failure mechanism due to aging effects in lithium-ion batteries. IEEE International Telecommunications Energy Conference (INTELEC), Osaka, Japan.
- K. H. Yen, Maxi Tsai, and C. K. Wang. 2015. Review and Assessment of Sensor for Wearable Sensing System with Application in Healthcare. The International Multi-Conference on Engineering and Technology Innovation 2015 (IMETI 2015), Kaohsiung, Taiwan.