Professor Yusheng Zhao is a Chair Professor and Special Advisor to the President of Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo. He previously served at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) as the Acting Vice President of Research, the Director of the Office of Scientific Research, the Dean of the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, and Chair Professor in the Department of Physics. He 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.

Professor Yusheng Zhao received his B.S. and M.S. from Peking University in 1982 and 1985, respectively, and his Ph.D. from the State University of New York (Stony Brook) in 1992. From 1992 to 1996, he conducted his postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology and Los Alamos National Laboratory. From 1996 to 2012, Professor Yusheng Zhao served as a Staff Scientist, Senior Scientist and Team Leader at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). In 2010, he was appointed Tenured Full Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and he was the Executive Director of High Pressure Science and Engineering Center (HiPSEC, a DOE/NNSA Center of Excellence). Since 2006, he has held adjunct positions as Guest Professor at the College of Engineering, Peking University, and Guest Researcher at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Yusheng Zhao joined SUSTech on a full-time basis in 2015 and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Material Research Society (MRS) from 2019 to 2021. He assumed his current role at Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo in 2022.

Prof. Yusheng 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 superhard nano polycrystalline materials. Prof. Yusheng 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. Yusheng Zhao is leading the effort in the planning, design and establishment of the high-pressure neutron diffractometer at the China Spallation Neutron Source.

Professor Yusheng Zhao has achieved breakthroughs in solid-state electrolytes with high ionic conductivity, high-energy solid-state batteries, synthesis of ultrahard and high-strength materials, and analysis of gas hydrates synthesis. He pioneered the crystal structure design and synthesis of a novel fast-ion conductor solid-state electrolyte based on a lithium-rich anti-perovskite structure. He also introduced a groundbreaking concept of a bilayer-optimized interface between cathode materials and electrolytes utilizing this anti-perovskite framework. To date, he has published nearly 370 papers in journals including Nature, Science, Nature Materials, and Chemical Reviews, with over 13,650 citations via Web of Science (17,900 via Google Scholar) and an h-index of 60 (70 via Google Scholar). He holds nearly 60 patents in China and abroad.