Dr. Huiyuan Zhu is currently an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Virginia (UVA). Before coming to UVA, she was an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech (VT) since 2018. Before coming to VT, she was a research scientist in the Chemical Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). She joined ORNL in November 2014 as one of the inaugural Liane Russell fellows. She spent four years at Brown University as both a research assistant and a teaching assistant with Prof. Shouheng Sun and received her Ph.D. in Chemistry in August 2014. She received her B. Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2009.
Outside research, she loves sci-fi novels. Her favorite one is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. “Don’t Panic. Mostly Harmless!”
Professional Experience
2023.8 - present: Associate Professor, Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
2022.8 - 2023.8: Assistant Professor, Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
2018.8 - 2022.8: Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
2014.11 - 2018.6: Research Staff (Liane B. Russell Fellow), Nanomaterials Chemistry Group, Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
Teaching Experience
Fall 2022: Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications (CHEM 5340)
Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020: Mass and Energy Balances (CHE 2114)
Fall 2020: Modern Aspects of Nanoscience and Electrocatalysis (CHE 5984)
Fall 2019, Fall 2018: Advanced Chemical Engineering Kinetics (CHE5094)
Honors and Awards
· 2024 Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences
· 2023 Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
· 2022 Emerging Investigator, Nanoscale Horizons
· 2022 Outstanding New Assistant Professor Award, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech
· 2022 NSF CAREER Award
· 2021 Class of Influential Researcher, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
· 2021 Emerging Investigator, Nanoscale
· 2020 Jeffress Trust Award
· 2020 ORAU Ralph E Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
· 2020 Emerging Investigator, Journal of Materials Chemistry A
· 2020 Doctoral New Investigator Award, ACS Petroleum Research Foundation
· 2019 Assistant Professor Mentoring Award, Virginia Tech
· 2014 Liane B. Russell Fellowship, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
· 2013 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad
· 2013 IPMI (International Precious Metals Institute) Gemini Graduate Student Award
