Zhihong Chen
Reilly Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University
Dr. Zhihong Chen is the Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center and a Reilly Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. She received her B.S. in Physics from Fudan University and earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Florida. Before joining Purdue in 2010, Dr. Chen was a researcher and Manager of the Carbon Technology Group at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, where she pioneered groundbreaking work on low-dimensional carbon materials, including developing the first intramolecular circuit on a single carbon nanotube.
At Purdue, Dr. Chen leads the SRC nCORE NEW LIMITS Center, a multi-university initiative advancing two-dimensional materials for next-generation technology. Her research focuses on nanoelectronics, novel 2D materials, beyond-CMOS devices, spintronics, and hybrid interconnects, bridging fundamental physics with industrial semiconductor applications. Named an IEEE Fellow in 2022 for her contributions to nanomaterials, her accolades also include the Intel Rising Star Faculty Award and recognition in Forbes’ Top Five Nanotech Breakthroughs.
