Associate Professor Department of Chemical Engineering Stauffer III, Room 213 (650) 723 2419 zbao@stanford.edu   Curriculum Vitae

Background

Professor Bao received her Ph.D. degree in chemistry from The University of Chicago in 1995 and joined the Materials Research Department of Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies. She became a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff in 2001. She joined the faculty of the Stanford Chemical Engineering Department in 2004.

In addition to her more than 80 refereed publications, she has filed close to 50 US patent applications with 16 of them awarded. She currently serves as a member of Executive Board of Directors for the Materials Research Society, Executive Committee Member and Program Committee for the Polymer Materials Science and Engineering Divisions of the American Chemical Society. She is on the international advisory board for the journal of Advanced Functional Materials and Materials Today.

She is a recipient of the American Chemical Society Team Innovation Award 2001, R&D 100 Award, and R&D Magazine's Editors Choice of the "Best of the Best" new technology for 2001. She has been selected in 2002 by the American Chemical Society Women Chemists Committee as one of the twelve "Outstanding Young Woman Scientist who is expected to make a substantial impact in chemistry during this century." She is also selected by MIT Technology Review magazine in 2003 as one of the top 100 young innovators for this century.

Most recent awards:

1. Sloan Research Fellow (2006)
2. 3M Faculty Award (2006)
3. DuPont Science and Technology Award (2005)
4. Finmeccanica Faculty Scholar, Stanford University (2004-2007)
5. Terman Fellow, Stanford University (2004-2007)
6. Robert Noyce Faculty Scholar, Stanford University (2004-2005)

General Research Overview

The research programs in my laboratory are centered on using chemical and chemical engineering approaches towards the formation of functional nano- and microstructures with novel electronic and photonic properties. Our research activities involve organic and polymer synthesis, surface chemistry, nano- and micropatterning, bio-inspired patterning and assembly, and materials and device characterizations. The approach we take is multidisciplinary, which involves chemistry, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, materials science and engineering, physics, and electrical engineering. The devices of interest currently are organic thin film transistors, molecular switches, organic light emitting diodes, organic photovoltaic cells, and chemical and biological sensors. These devices will be used as characterization tools for fundamental charge transport and photophysics studies. They are also of practical interest for nano-scale electronics, low cost and large area flexible plastic circuits, displays, and disposable sensors.