Professor Huimin Zhao

Huimin Zhao

   Centennial Endowed Chair Professor
   B.S., University of Science and Technology of China, 1992
   Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 1998

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Huimin Zhao is the Centennial Endowed Chair Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and professor of chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, and bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He received his B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1992 and his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1998 under the guidance of Dr. Frances Arnold. Prior to joining UIUC in 2000, he was a project leader at the Industrial Biotechnology Laboratory of the Dow Chemical Company. Dr. Zhao has authored and co-authored over 100 research articles and 12 patents with several being licensed by industry. His honors include Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Biochemical Technology Young Investigator Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Food, Pharmaceutical, and Bioengineering Division Plenary Award Lecturer, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, DuPont Young Professor Award, Dow Chemical Special Recognition Award, Outstanding Overseas Young Chinese Scholars Award, Xerox Award for Faculty Research from UIUC College of Engineering, Petit Scholar from UIUC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and University Scholar from UIUC. Dr. Zhao served as a consultant for over 10 companies including Pfizer, Maxygen, British Petroleum, Gevo, Inc., and zuChem, and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Gevo and Myriant Technologies. Dr. Zhao is an Associate Editor of ACS Catalysis and an editor of Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. His primary research interests are in the development and applications of synthetic biology tools to address society's most daunting challenges in human health and energy, and in the fundamental aspects of enzyme catalysis and gene regulation.