Zhenan Bao

Zhenan Bao (; born 1970) is a Chinese-born American chemical engineer. She serves as K. K. Lee Professor of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, with courtesy appointments in Chemistry and Material Science and Engineering. She served as the Department Chair of Chemical Engineering from 2018 to 2022. She is the daughter of a professor of physical chemistry at Nanjing University.

Bao studied chemistry as an undergraduate student at Nanjing University beginning in 1987.

In 1990, Bao moved to the United States with her family, enrolling in the University of Illinois at Chicago as she had family nearby. At the University of Chicago, as one of the first graduate students of Luping Yu,

Bao received a Master of Science in chemistry in 1993 and a Doctor of Philosophy in chemistry in 1995, both from the University of Chicago. To this day, she does not hold any bachelor's degrees.

Career Upon the completion of her doctorate, Bao received an offer to join the University of California, Berkeley as a postdoctoral scholar, but instead chose to join the Materials Research Department at Bell Labs of Lucent Technologies. It was also during this time when Jan Hendrik Schön published a series of papers claiming major breakthroughs involving semiconductors, two of which included Bao as a coauthor. Schön's papers were ultimately retracted due to fraud, but Bao was cleared of allegations of misconduct. She was named a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs in 2001. and all-carbon solar cells. Bao is a co-founder and on the board of directors for C3 Nano and PyrAmes Health, both of which are Silicon Valley venture-funded startup companies. She serves as an advising Partner for Fusion Venture Capital.

Research Bao and her team of researchers at Stanford University have several current projects in her research group as of 2022. Utilizing a “newly created printing method”, Bao and her team have developed skin-like integrated circuits. This new material can be used for “on-skin sensors, body-scale networks and implantable bioelectronics.” The process used for developing these materials is known as photolithography which, when combined with novel photochemistries, can generate the flexible materials.

In conjunction with Karl Deisseroth, Bao has developed biocompatible polymers that can be used to “modulate the properties of target cells”. These cell-modulating biocompatible polymers alter certain properties of neurons and can either inhibit or boost neuronal firing. This technology can be used as a tool for exploration to better understand diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Fellowships and societies

Fellowships

American Association for the Advancement of Science American Chemical Society SPIE Terman Fellow, Stanford University

Advisory board positions

ACS Nano Advanced Functional Materials Advanced Functional Materials Chemical Communications Chemistry of Materials Materials Today, Nanoscale NPG Asia Materials

Other positions

Board of Directors, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, 2022–present. Advisory Council Member, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, 2022–present. Science Committee member, Future Science Prize of China, 2018–2021. Board member, National Academies Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, 2009–2012. Board of Directors, Materials Research Society, 2003–2005. Executive Committee Member/Member-at-Large, Polymers Materials Science and Engineering division of the American Chemical Society, 2000–2006, 2009–2012

Awards and honors 2000: Named among Top 100 Young Engineers by U.S. National Academy of Engineering. for her contributions and discoveries in the field of organic semiconductors. 2011: ACS Cope Scholar Award. 2013: Named one of MIT Technology Review's TR35 and C&EN 12 rising stars "people who mattered" in science for her work with wearable electronics, including artificial skin that mimics touch sense. 2016: Elected as a member into the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. 2017: Laureate of L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science for her contribution to the development of novel functional polymers for consumer electronics, energy storage and biomedical applications. 2017: ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science "for pioneering work on the design, processing, and applications of polymer electronic materials for flexible and stretchable electronics." 2020: Willard Gibbs Award. 2021: Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 2021: Awarded ACS POLY Charles G. Overberger International Prize for Excellence Polymer Research. 2021: Awarded MRS Mid-Career Award. 2021: Awarded AICHE Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research. 2021: Awarded Alumni Professional Achievement Award by the Alumni Board of the University of Chicago. 2022: Awarded ACS Chemistry of Materials Award. 2022: Awarded the VinFuture Prize in Female Innovator category for the development of electronic skins. 2023 Samsung Research Award, Samsung Electronics 2023 Innovation Investigator, Arc Institute 2024 Member, National Academy of Science, National Academy of Sciences 2024 Fellow, Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering (AAASE) 2024 Faculty Women's Forum (FWF) Outstanding Leader Award, Stanford University

Personal life One of her major mentors was Elsa Reichmanis, who was the department director at Bell Labs.