Getting a tenure-track position in the field of science and engineering right after your Ph.D. graduation is not an ordinary occurrence. But Hongping Zhao ’11 Ph.D. is a Lehigh graduate, and we know they are anything but ordinary. 

Zhao grew up in Suzhou, China, and dreamt of becoming a researcher and teacher. As a Lehigh doctoral student, she focused on improving nanostructure of semiconductors in solid-state lighting. During her career here, she published 23 scholarly journal articles and 40 conference papers—a very impressive record for an early-career researcher. She graduated with a full-time teaching offer at Case Western Reserve University, where she stayed for six years. 

Now, she is an associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State University. She is still remembered fondly at Lehigh by her doctoral advisor Nelson Tansu, the Daniel E. ’39 and Patricia M. Smith Endowed Chair Professor and the director for the Center of Photonics and Nanoelectronics.

“Zhao has demonstrated an impressive originality in advancing a new area in power electronics materials research on gallium oxide semiconductor technologies,” says Tansu. “I am very honored and proud to call her as one of our Ph.D. alumni.” 

Zhao credits the generosity of Lehigh donors as a key factor behind her success at Lehigh: “I greatly appreciate my 4.5 years of graduate studies and research experiences at Lehigh University. My PhD dissertation was on developing high efficiency light emitting diodes for solid state lighting. The MOCVD laboratory and cleanroom facility in the Center for Optical Technologies was the key research infrastructure that enabled many innovations during my studies at Lehigh. These infrastructures were established because of the generous support from many donors. My research experiences and education at Lehigh inspired me to pursue my career in academia and continue inspiring the next generations.”