Rate My Professor Bidong Zhang

Bidong Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Rice University, where he directs the Rice Astromaterials Research and Exploration (RARE) Laboratory. His academic journey began with a B.E. in Mineral Resource Engineering from the University of South China in 2012, followed by an M.Sc. in Marine Geology from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015, and culminated in a Ph.D. in Geology and Planetary Science from the University of Western Ontario in 2019. Before joining Rice in 2024, Zhang held positions as a Postdoctoral Researcher (2020-2023) and Assistant Researcher (2023-2024) at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Zhang's research employs meteorites, lunar samples, and advanced analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry to probe the early solar system's evolution. Key foci include developing radiometric dating methods for lunar magmatic and impact histories, and analyzing iron meteorites to elucidate asteroidal core formation and protoplanetary disk dynamics. He has authored impactful publications, including "Accretion of the earliest inner Solar System planetesimals beyond the water snowline" (Nature Astronomy, 2024), "A revised trapped melt model for iron meteorites applied to the IIIAB group" (Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 2022), and "4.46 Ga zircons anchor chronology of lunar magma ocean" (Geochemical Perspectives Letters, 2023), contributing to over 384 citations on Google Scholar. As principal investigator, he has secured NASA grants totaling more than $4.5 million, supporting projects like next-generation lunar dating ($2.55M, 2026-2029) and lunar Mg-suite magmatism ($969K, 2024-2027). Zhang serves as Associate Editor for The Meteoritical Society (2023-2026), member of the Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group Lunar Subcommittee, and peer reviewer for premier journals including Nature and Earth and Planetary Science Letters. His contributions extend to session chairing at Lunar and Planetary Science Conferences and Goldschmidt, enhancing the field's discourse on planetary origins.