Paul Dauenhauer (born 1980), a chemical engineer and MacArthur Fellow, is the Lanny & Charlotte Schmidt Professor at the University of Minnesota (UMN).

[3] Following graduation from Minnesota, Dauenhauer served as a senior research engineer at the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI, and Freeport, TX.

In 2012, he discovered a high yield pathway to synthesize p-xylene from glucose; this molecule is the key ingredient in polyethylene terephthalate plastic.

[9] These molecules were shown to have high hard water stability (>1000 ppm Ca++) and are being commercialized by Sironix Renewables, Inc.[10] In 2016, Dauenhauer and Abdelrahman developed the acid-catalyzed dehydra-decyclization mechanism that simultaneously opens cyclic ether rings and dehydrates to synthesize diene products.

Optimal catalyst performance is depicted as a 'volcano' peak using a descriptor of the chemical reaction defining different catalytic materials.

Key publications include: Paul Dauenhauer has developed multiple technologies that have been patented and licensed from the University of Minnesota to his startup companies located throughout the United States.

The flagship detergent products called 'Eosix' are derived from renewable resources and provide advanced cleaning performance in both hard and cold water using molecular synthesis and design developed in the Dauenhauer Laboratory at the University of Minnesota.

[34] Activated Research Company (ARC) is at the forefront of developing revolutionary products that redefine the standards in chemical analysis.

Using fundamental insight from the Dauenhauer Laboratory at the University of Minnesota,[37] the Carba portable torrefaction reactor achieves high throughput for low capital investment and operating expense to manufacture sequestered carbon with long-term permanence that outcompetes competitors on energy efficiency and cost.