Zhenan Bao

About

Zhenan Bao is the K.K. Lee Professor in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, with courtesy appointments in Chemistry, Bioengineering, and Materials Science and Engineering. She joined Stanford in 2004 and has served as the Department Chair of Chemical Engineering from 2018-2022 and in 2025. Bao is the founder and current faculty director of the Stanford Wearable Electronics Initiative (eWEAR). Her research focuses on molecular design concepts and fabrication processes to advance skin-inspired electronics, including the development of new materials and device solutions for soft robotics, wearable and implantable electronics for health monitoring, and neuroscience applications. Her group has made significant contributions to understanding the nano confinement effect of conjugated polymers, establishing foundational materials for skin-inspired electronic devices that enable unprecedented opportunities for health monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment. Bao has pioneered the creation of devices such as neuromorphic e-skin, wireless wound healing patches, and reconfigurable self-healing electronic skin, which are used for applications in neurochemical monitoring, neurotechnology, and human health. She holds over 800 refereed publications and more than 80 US patents, and her work has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including election to the US National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry
• Artificial Intelligence
• Engineering
• Electrical engineering
• Thermodynamics
• Chemical engineering
• Physical chemistry

Selected publications

• Technology Roadmap for Flexible Sensors

  ACS Nano · 2023 · 1225 citations

  Humans rely increasingly on sensors to address grand challenges and to improve quality of life in the era of digitalization and big data. For ubiquitous sensing, flexible sensors are developed to overcome the limitations of conventional rigid counterparts. Despite rapid advancement in bench-side research over the last decade, the market adoption of flexible sensors remains limited. To ease and to expedite their deployment, here, we identify bottlenecks hindering the maturation of flexible sensor…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Molecular design for electrolyte solvents enabling energy-dense and long-cycling lithium metal batteries

  Nature Energy · 2020 · 1183 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Rational solvent molecule tuning for high-performance lithium metal battery electrolytes

  Nature Energy · 2022 · 890 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Neuromorphic sensorimotor loop embodied by monolithically integrated, low-voltage, soft e-skin

  Science · 2023 · 699 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Artificial skin that simultaneously mimics sensory feedback and mechanical properties of natural skin holds substantial promise for next-generation robotic and medical devices. However, achieving such a biomimetic system that can seamlessly integrate with the human body remains a challenge. Through rational design and engineering of material properties, device structures, and system architectures, we realized a monolithic soft prosthetic electronic skin (e-skin). It is capable of multimodal perc…

  PublisherDOI

• Multifunctional materials for implantable and wearable photonic healthcare devices

  Nature Reviews Materials · 2020 · 653 citations

  DOI

Recent grants

• Patterning of Large Array Organic Semiconductor Single Crystals

  NSF · $441k · 2013–2016

• Mechanistic Studies of Carbon Naotube Sorting on Functional Surfaces

  NSF · $350k · 2009–2012

• NIRT: Synthesis, Electrical and Optical Properties of Metal-Molecule-Metal Junctions formed by Self-Assembly

  NSF · $1.4M · 2005–2010

Frequent coauthors

• Michael F. Toney

  146 shared

• Stefan C. B. Mannsfeld

  144 shared

• Yi Cui

  Stanford University

  132 shared

• Jeffrey B.‐H. Tok

  Stanford University

  126 shared

• Mark E. Roberts

  Clemson University

  99 shared

• Xiaodan Gu

  University of Southern Mississippi

  96 shared

• Thomas F. Jaramillo

  94 shared

• Joon Hak Oh

  Seoul National University

  88 shared

Labs

• Bao Research GroupPI

Education

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering

  Stanford University

  1999

• M.S., Polymer Materials and Engineering

  University of Science and Technology of China

  1996

• B.S., Polymer Materials and Engineering

  University of Science and Technology of China

  1993

Awards & honors

• VinFuture Prize Female Innovator 2022
• ACS Award of Chemistry of Materials 2022
• MRS Mid-Career Award 2021
• AICHE Alpha Chi Sigma Award 2021
• ACS Central Science Disruptor and Innovator Prize 2020

Similar researchers at Stanford University

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• Matteo Cargnelloh-83