Professor Zhiping Zheng attended Peking University (B.S. 1987, M.S. 1990) prior to his adventure in the United States.  He was a graduate student at The University of California, Los Angeles (Ph.D. 1995 with Professor M. Frederick Hawthorne) and conducted his postdoctoral research at Harvard University (with Professor Richard H. Holm) before he joined the faculty of The University of Arizona in 1997.  He was Guest Professor at Xiamen University from 2006 to 2012，he served as Director of The Center for Applied Chemical Research and was the founding chair of The Frontier Institute of Chemistry.  Trained as a coordination chemist, his research interest lies primarily in the synthetic and structural chemistry of both transition metal and the lanthanide elements and their corresponding materials applications.  He has been a leader in the coordination chemistry of the lanthanide elements, in particular that of cluster-type polynuclear lanthanide complexes.  He was a Topic Editor for Crystal Growth and Design and is now on the Advisory Board.  He also serves on the Editorial Board of Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, Chinese Journal of Inorganic Chemistry and is an Overseas Managing Editor for Journal of Rare Earths.  In 2016 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Chemical Society.

2. Education & Professional Background

2018- present   Chair，Department of Chemistry

2018.3-2019.8   Executive Director of Shenzhen Grubbs Research Institute

2017-present    Mentor of ZhiCheng College

Southern University of Science and Technology

2017-present     Chair Professor

Southern University of Science and Technology

2011-2016        Director, Center for Applied Chemical Research

Founding Chair, Frontier Institute of Chemistry

Xi’an Jiaotong University

2006-2012      “Minjiang Scholar” Guest Professor

Xiamen University

1997-2017     Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor

University of Arizona

1995-1997        Postdoctoral Associate

Harvard University

1991-1995        Graduate Student (Ph.D. 1995)

University of California, Los Angeles

1983-1990        Student at Peking University (M.S. 1990; B.S. 1987)

3. Research Interests

1）coordination chemistry, organometallic chemistry

2）luminescent and magnetically active lanthanide complexes

3）cluster compounds of transition and lanthanide elements

4）cluster-based green catalysts

5）cluster-based light-limiting materials

4. Awards & Recognitions

• Advanced Individuals of Admission（2018）

• Procurement Expert of ShenZhen Government（2018）

• High-Level Talent in NanShan District of ShenZhen (Level A)（2018）

• Excellence in Teaching， University of Arizona(2007)

• Young Observer, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry（2005)

• International Junior Award, European Rare Earth and Actinide Society（2003)

• US NSF CAREER Award（2003）

• China Bridges International Fellowship (1999)

• Research Corporation Innovation Award（1998)

• Outstanding Dissertation Award(Inorganic Chemistry, UCLA(1995)

• Ralph Bauer Prize for Excellence in Research, UCLA(1994)

• Graduate Achievement Award, UCLA(1994)