Zhiqiang Mao named a Fellow of the AAAS
Zhiqiang Mao, professor of physics, materials science and engineering, and of chemistry, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed by peers upon members of the AAAS, the world's largest general scientific society, for their extraordinary achievements in advancing science. Mao was honored for outstanding contributions to the discovery and crystal growth of novel quantum materials, and for the understanding of unconventional superconductivity, correlated electron phenomena, and topological electronic states.
“We are extremely proud that Zhiqiang is being recognized with this well-deserved honor,” said Mauricio Terrones, George A. and Margaret M. Downsbrough Head of the Department of Physics, Evan Pugh University Professor, professor of chemistry and of materials science and engineering. “His work developing novel quantum materials pushes the boundaries of our current understanding of physics, and he is an integral part of the physics community here at Penn State, where he has been an excellent mentor to numerous postdocs and students.”
Mao devotes his research to discovering and synthesizing novel quantum materials with emergent phenomena and to investigating their underlying physics. His work is focused on topological materials such as Dirac and Weyl semimetals, novel two-dimensional materials with advanced functional properties, novel non-linear optical materials, novel superconductors, and emergent quantum phenomena in strongly correlated oxides. Mao’s research not only advances knowledge in material physics but also holds promise for advancing applications in information and energy technologies
“I am incredibly honored to become a Fellow of the AAAS,” Mao said. “Being elected by my fellow scientists makes this honor extra special. I’d like to recognize all the wonderful collaborators, including postdocs and students, that I have worked with over the years. Their contributions, through dedication and expertise, were crucial to my success, and I thank them.”
Mao’s previous awards and honors include the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering Outstanding Researcher Award in 2017, an NSF CAREER award in 2007, the Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement in 2005, and the Tulane President Early Career Development Award in 2005. He was named as a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2015. Mao has published over 450 peer-reviewed papers, including many in high impact journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Physics, Nature Communications, Physical Review X, Physical Review Letters.
Prior to joining the faculty at Penn State, Mao was a faculty member at Tulane University beginning in 2002, where he held the title of Nicholas J. Altiero Professor in Physics from 2011 to 2018. Mao was a postdoctoral scholar at Penn State from 2000 to 2002 and at Kyoto University in Japan from 1997 to 2000. He was a research fellow from 1995 to 1997 and a research assistant from 1992 to 1993 at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). He earned a doctoral degree in condensed matter physics at USTC in 1992 and a bachelor’s degree in physics at Nanjing Normal University in China in 1987.
AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. For additional information visit the AAAS website.