Yu Zheng

Zheng Yu (郑宇) is a rising-star chemical engineer and bioelectronics researcher who left MIT in January 2026 to join Peking University as an Assistant Professor in the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering. She was selected for MIT's prestigious "Rising Stars" program in chemical engineering in 2022.

Zheng graduated from Nankai University in 2017 and earned her PhD from Stanford University under Zhenan Bao, a world-renowned expert in flexible electronics and electronic skin. Her research focuses on developing special electroactive polymer materials that allow electronic devices to interpret biological signals from the body, with applications in wearable and implantable devices such as smart bandages for health monitoring.

Her doctoral work earned her the 2023 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry award for young chemists and recognition from the American Chemical Society for excellence in polymer research. Her publications have appeared in Nature Energy, Science, and the Journal of the American Chemical Society.