Wei Zhang

Zhang Wei is an award-winning chemist who left his position as former chairman of the chemistry department at the University of Colorado Boulder — where he had been a faculty member for 19 years — to join China's newly established Great Bay University (GBU) as deputy dean and chair professor of its School of Physical Sciences in July 2026.

Zhang attended a hiring ceremony at GBU's Songshan Lake campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, on July 2, 2026, receiving his appointment letter from university president Tian Gang, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research covers two-dimensional materials, porous organic materials, sustainable and recyclable polymers, molecular separation, and carbon capture. He has published more than 200 scientific papers cited over 30,000 times, and was named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate in both 2024 and 2025. He is also a Sloan Research Fellow and senior member of the National Academy of Inventors.

Zhang, who was born in China, said family considerations were central to his decision to return, citing the death of his father in 2020 and pandemic-era travel restrictions as having had "a profound effect" on him. "Now that my mother is getting older, I hope that in the next stage of my life, I can be closer to her and spend more time with her," he said. Great Bay University, approved by China in June 2025, aims to support national strategic priorities and industrial development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.