Brief Introduction

Yusheng Zhao is a Chair Professor and Senior Advisor to the President of Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo. He received his Ph.D. degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Formerly at SUSTech he served as Acting Vice President (Scientific Research), Director of the Office of Research, Dean of the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, and Chair Professor in the Department of Physics. Prof. Zhao is the Director of Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Solid State Batteries, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Materials for Electric Power, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Photonic-Thermal-Electrical Energy Materials and Devices.

Research

Dr. Zhao's research areas span high-pressure physics, material physics, crystal chemistry, nanomechanics, exploration and conservation of the earth and environment, and exploitation of energy resources. He specializes in the study of the phase transition processes under external forces and focuses on the correlations between the structure of matter and physical properties, and those between material processing and functional performance, through recently the studies of superhard nano polycrystalline materials, superionic electro-chemistry and advanced battery materials, and gas hydrates. Prof. Zhao is one of the pioneers in the field of materials research at extreme conditions such as high temperature and high pressure using large-scale scientific facilities (synchrotron radiation and neutron scattering). He participated in the planning, design and establishment of Los Alamos LANSCE-HIPPO and Oakridge SNS-SNAP high-pressure neutron facilities, and in the construction and operation of the Brookhaven NSLS-X17 and Argonne APS-HPCAT synchrotron high-pressure experimental stations, serving as a member of the Executive Committee. Prof. Zhao is leading the effort in the planning, design and establishment of the high-pressure neutron diffractometer at the China Spallation Neutron Source.

Education

Ph.D., State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1992

M.Sc., Peking University, 1985

B.Sc., Peking University, 1982

Employment

2022-Now, Chair Professor; Senior Advisor to the President; Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo

2015-Now, Chair Professor, Department of Physics; Dean, the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies; SUSTech

2015-2021, Acting Vice President; Director of the Office of Research; SUSTech

2010-2016, Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Director, High Pressure Science and Engineering Center; University of Nevada Las Vegas 

1996-2012, Group Leader, Neutron Science Center; Staff Scientist; Los Alamos National Laboratory

1994-1996, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Los Alamos National Laboratory

1992-1994, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology

Honors & Awards

Board member, Materials Research Society (MRS)

Visiting Staff Scientist, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Visiting Professor, College of Engineering, Peking University

Distinguished Technology Transfer Award on Patent Licensing, “Drill-Bit Application of Diamond/SiC Nano-Composites”

Technology Transfer Award on Outstanding Innovation and Patent Reorganization, “Diamond-Silicon Carbide Composites”

Technology Transfer Award on Outstanding Innovation and Patent Reorganization, “Superhard B-C-N Nanocomposites”

R&D 100 Award, “Superhard and Ultratough Nanocomposites”

Award of Excellence, “High-Pressure Materials Research of Superhard and Ultratough Nanocomposites”

Award of Excellence, “LANSCE Accelerator Development and Neutron Applications”

Selected Publications

Prof. Zhao has published nearly 390 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Nature Materials, Chemical Reviews, Nature Communications, JACS, and other top international journals, with 14,418 citations/Web of Science (17,948/Google Scholar) and H-index of 63/Web of Science (72/Google Scholar). He has been granted about 60 patents.

• Wang, Y. G., J. J. Ying, Z. Y. Zhou, J. L. Sun, T. Wen, Y. N. Zhou, N. N. Li, Q. Zhang, F. Han, Y. M. Xiao, P. Chow, W. G. Yang*, V. V. Struzhkin*, Y. S. Zhao*, and H. K. Mao, Emergent superconductivity in an iron-based honeycomb lattice initiated by pressure-driven spin-crossover. Nat. Commun., 9, 1914, (2018).

• Wang, Y. G.*, Z. Y. Zhou, T. Wen, Y. N. Zhou, N. N. Li, F. Han, Y. M. Xiao, P. Chow, J. L. Sun, M. Pravica, A. L. Cornelius, W. G. Yang*, and Y. S. Zhao*, Pressure-Driven Cooperative Spin-Crossover, Large-Volume Collapse, and Semiconductor-to-Metal Transition in Manganese(II) Honeycomb Lattices. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 138, 15751−15757, (2016).

• Wang, S. M. *, H. Ge*, S. L. Sun, J. Z. Zhang, F. M. Liu, X. D. Wen, X. H. Yu, L. P. Wang, Y. Zhang, H. W. Xu, J. C. Neuefeind, Z. F. Qin, C. F. Chen, C. Q. Jin, Y. W. Li, D. W. He and Y. S. Zhao*, A New molybdenum nitride catalyst with rhombohedral MoS2 structure for hydrogenation applications. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 137, 4815, (2015).

• Zhu, J., S. Du, X. Yu, J. Zhang, H. Xu, S. C. Vogel, T. C. Germann, J. S. Francisco, F. Izumi, K. Momma, Y. Kawamura, C. Jin, and Y. Zhao*, Encapsulation kinetics and dynamics of carbon monoxide in clathrate hydrate. Nat. Commun., 5, 4128, (2014).

• Yu, X., J. Zhu, S. Du, H. Xu, S. C. Vogel, J. Han, T. C. Germann, J. Zhang, C. Jin, J. S. Francisco, and Y. Zhao*, Crystal structure and encapsulation dynamics of ice II-structured neon hydrate. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 111 (29) 10456-10461, (2014).

• Zhao, Y. S. and L. L. Daemen, Superionic conductivity in lithium-rich anti-perovskites, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 134, 15042-15047, (2012).