Zhenan Bao

The native form of this personal name is Bao Zhenan. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Zhenan Bao (Chinese: 鲍哲南; pinyin: Bào Zhénán; born 1970) is a 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.^[1] She served as the Department Chair of Chemical Engineering from 2018 to 2022.^[1] Bao is known for her work on organic field-effect transistors and organic semiconductors, for applications including flexible electronics and electronic skin.

Zhenan Bao
鲍哲南
Born	1970 (age 53–54) Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	Nanjing University (no degree) University of Illinois Chicago (no degree) University of Chicago (MS, PhD)
Known for	Organic semiconductors, electronic skin
Scientific career
Fields	Polymer science
Institutions	Lucent Technologies, Inc. Stanford University
Thesis	Exploration of palladium-catalyzed reactions for the syntheses of functional conjugated polymers (1995)
Doctoral advisor	Luping Yu
Notable students	Helen Tran Xiaodan Gu Jia Liu
Website	baogroup.stanford.edu

Early life and education

Bao was born in Nanjing, China in 1970.^[2] She is the daughter of a physics and chemistry professor at Nanjing University.^[2][3] She studied chemistry at Nanjing University beginning in 1987.^[2] While at Nanjing University, she worked in the laboratory of Gi Xue on gold cross-linked polymers.^[2][4] In 1990, she moved to the United States, transferring to the University of Illinois at Chicago as she had family nearby.^[2][5] Several months later, Bao was accepted directly into the Ph.D. program in chemistry at the University of Chicago, without the completion of her bachelor's degree, owing to two awards she won while an undergraduate at Nanjing University.^[2][6]

At the University of Chicago, as one of the first graduate students of Luping Yu,^[5] Bao applied palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions towards the synthesis of conductive and liquid crystalline polymers.^{[5][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

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.^[13]

Academic career

Upon the completion of her Ph.D., 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 Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs.^[5] At Bell Labs, she developed the first all-plastic transistor, or organic field-effect transistor, which allows for use in electronic paper.^[14][15][16] 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.^[17] She was named a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs in 2001.^[1]

In 2004, she returned to academia by joining the faculty at Stanford University where she is now focusing on studying organic semiconductor and carbon nanotubes using new fabrication methods. Recent work in the lab includes developing electronic skin^[18] and all-carbon solar cells.^[19] Bao is a co-founder and on the board of directors for C3 Nano^[20] and PyrAmes Health,^[21] both of which are Silicon Valley venture-funded startup companies. She serves as an advising Partner for Fusion Venture Capital.^[22][23]

Research activities

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.^[24]

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.^[25]

Fellowships and societies

Fellowships

• American Association for the Advancement of Science^[26]
• American Chemical Society
• SPIE
• Terman Fellow, Stanford University^[27]

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.^[27]
• 2000: Listed among Top 10 Research Breakthroughs for work on large scale integrated circuits based on organic materials, Science Magazine.^[27]
• 2001: Awarded R&D 100 Award for the work on Printed Plastic Circuits for Electronic Paper Displays by R&D Magazine^[27]
• 2001: Editor's Choice of the "Best of the Best" in new technology by R&D Magazine.^[27]
• 2002: ACS Team Innovation Award.^[27]
• 2003: Named Among Top 100 young innovators for this century by MIT Technology Review.^[27]
• 2003: University Relations of Lucent Technologies Best Mentor Award.^[27]
• 2004: 3M Faculty Award.^[27]
• 2004–2005: Robert Noyce Faculty Scholar.^[27]
• 2009: Awarded Beilby Medal and Prize^[28] for her contributions and discoveries in the field of organic semiconductors.^[29]
• 2011: ACS Cope Scholar Award.^[30]
• 2013: Named one of MIT Technology Review's TR35^[31] and C&EN 12 rising stars^[2] for her work with organic semiconductors.
• 2015: Named one of Nature's 10^[32] "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.^[33]
• 2017: Laureate of L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science^[34] 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."^[35]
• 2020: Willard Gibbs Award.^[36]
• 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.^[37]

Personal life

One of her major mentors was Elsa Reichmanis, who was the department director at Bell Labs.^[2] She is married and has two children.^[38][39]

References

1. "Zhenan Bao | Chemical Engineering". cheme.stanford.edu. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
2. MacDermott, Kevin (25 March 2002). "TAKING AN EARLY LEAD". C&EN. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
3. "Interview: Great expectations – Chemical Science Blog". Retrieved 22 May 2021.
4. Xue, Gi; Wu, Peiyi; Bao, Zhenan; Dong, Jian; Cheng, Rongshi (1 January 1990). "Air-oxidation of gold metal in polybenzimidazole solution". Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications (6): 495–497. doi:10.1039/C39900000495. ISSN 0022-4936.
5. Tidwell, L. (8 April 2004). "Movers: Zhenan Bao". Nature. 428 (6983): 678. Bibcode:2004Natur.428..678.. doi:10.1038/nj6983-678c. PMID 15071601.
6. "Zhenan Bao – Zhenan Bao Research Group at Stanford Chemical Engineering". baogroup.stanford.edu. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
7. Bao, Zhenan; Chen, Yongming; Cai, Rubing; Yu, Luping (1 September 1993). "Conjugated liquid-crystalline polymers – soluble and fusible poly(phenylenevinylene) by the Heck coupling reaction". Macromolecules. 26 (20): 5281–5286. Bibcode:1993MaMol..26.5281B. doi:10.1021/ma00072a002.
8. Yu, Luping; Bao, Zhenan; Cai, Rubing (1993). "Conjugated, Liquid Crystalline Polymers". Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 32 (9): 1345–1347. doi:10.1002/anie.199313451. ISSN 1521-3773.
9. Bao, Zhenan; Chan, Waikin; Yu, Luping (1 January 1993). "Synthesis of conjugated polymer by the Stille Coupling Reaction". Chemistry of Materials. 5 (1): 2–3. doi:10.1021/cm00025a001. ISSN 0897-4756. S2CID 93661982.
10. Yu, Luping; Bao, Zhenan (1994). "Conjugated polymers exhibiting liquid crystallinity". Advanced Materials. 6 (2): 156–159. Bibcode:1994AdM.....6..156Y. doi:10.1002/adma.19940060214. ISSN 1521-4095.
11. Bao, Zhenan; Chen, Yongming; Yu, Luping (1994). "New Metalloporphyrin Containing Polymers from the Heck Coupling Reaction". Macromolecules. 27 (16): 4629–4631. Bibcode:1994MaMol..27.4629B. doi:10.1021/ma00094a032. ISSN 0024-9297.
12. Bao, Zhenan; Chan, Wai Kin; Yu, Luping (1995). "Exploration of the Stille Coupling Reaction for the Synthesis of Functional Polymers". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 117 (50): 12426–12435. doi:10.1021/ja00155a007. ISSN 0002-7863.
13. "Zhenan Bao's Profile | Stanford Profiles". profiles.stanford.edu. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
14. Dagani, Ron (30 November 1998). "AN INNOVATION ENGINE FOR LUCENT". C&EN. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
15. Bao, Zhenan; Dodabalapur, Ananth; Lovinger, Andrew J. (1 January 1996). "Soluble and processable regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) for thin film field-effect transistor applications with high mobility". Applied Physics Letters. 69 (26): 4108. Bibcode:1996ApPhL..69.4108B. doi:10.1063/1.117834.
16. Bao, Zhenan; Feng, Yi; Dodabalapur, Ananth; Raju, V. R.; Lovinger, Andrew J. (1 June 1997). "High-Performance Plastic Transistors Fabricated by Printing Techniques". Chemistry of Materials. 9 (6): 1299–1301. doi:10.1021/cm9701163.
17. Wilson, Elizabeth (19 December 2011). "Molecular Electronics: Schön's Fraud". C&EN. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
18. Arnaud, Celia (19 November 2012). "Electronic Skin Heals Itself". C&EN. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
19. Ramuz, Marc P.; Vosgueritchian, Michael; Wei, Peng; Wang, Chenggong; Gao, Yongli; Wu, Yingpeng; Chen, Yongsheng; Bao, Zhenan (27 November 2012). "Evaluation of Solution-Processable Carbon-Based Electrodes for All-Carbon Solar Cells". ACS Nano. 6 (11): 10384–10395. doi:10.1021/nn304410w. PMID 23113673.
20. "Board of Directors". C3Nano. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
21. "About PyrAmes – Vital data, innovative care". PyrAmes. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
22. "Zhenan Bao Receives l'Oreal-UNESCO 2017 Women in Science Intl. Award in 'Physical Sciences'". 12 November 2016.
23. . Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
24. "New chemistry enables using existing technology to print stretchable, bendable circuits on artificial skin – Zhenan Bao Research Group at Stanford Chemical Engineering". baogroup.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
25. Shayla. "Stanford scientists program cells to carry out gene guided construction project – Zhenan Bao Research Group at Stanford Chemical Engineering". baogroup.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
26. University, © Stanford; Stanford; California 94305 (9 June 2016). "Zhenan Bao, professor of Chemical Engineering, elected to AAAS". Stanford School of Engineering. Retrieved 22 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
27. "Standford Profiles: Zhenan Bao". Retrieved 3 January 2022.
28. "Beilby Medal and Prize Winners". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
29. "Prof. Bao Zhenan wins the 2009 Beilby Medal and Prize – Zhenan Bao Research Group at Stanford Chemical Engineering". baogroup.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
30. Halford, Bethany (28 February 2011). "Arthur C. Cope Scholar Awards: Zhenan Bao". C&EN. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
31. . MIT TR. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
32. "365 days: Nature's 10". Nature. 528 (7583): 459–467. 2015. Bibcode:2015Natur.528..459.. doi:10.1038/528459a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 26701036.
33. "Professor Zhenan Bao". NAE Website. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
34. Announcement of Laureates of 2017 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards
35. Wang, Linda (2 January 2017). "ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science: Zhenan Bao". cen.acs.org. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
36. Willard Gibbs Award 2020
37. "Winners of VinFuture's $4.5m global sci-tech prizes announced". Mena Report. 20 January 2022.
38. Wang, Linda (8 October 2007). "Rising Stars Reunite". C&EN. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
39. Walter2020-03-27T13:00:00+00:00, Patrick. "Zhenan Bao: 'We just had to dream big'". Chemistry World. Retrieved 22 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

• Bao Lab website
• Interview with Chemical Technology