Rate My Professor Hao Zeng

Hao Zeng is the Moti Lal Rustgi Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics at the University at Buffalo, where he joined as Assistant Professor in 2004, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009, and to Professor in 2014. He earned a B.S. in Physics from Nanjing University in 1993 and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2001, with a thesis titled 'Magnetism of Self-Ordered and Composite Nanostructures.' From 2001 to 2004, he served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, focusing on nanoscale materials and devices.

Zeng's research centers on nanoscale magnetism, quantum sensing, spintronics, and ionic semiconductors. He investigates spin and magnetic properties of two-dimensional magnets and zero-dimensional nanoparticles, employing synthesis methods like physical and chemical vapor deposition and chemical solution phase techniques. His probes include magnetic, charge transport, and magneto-optical measurements to tune properties via doping, alloying, and heterostructures. Notable advancements encompass high Curie temperature non-van der Waals 2D magnets, magnetic proximity effects for electronics, spintronics, and valleytronics, quantum sensors using atomic spin defects, and chalcogenide perovskites for energy generation and optoelectronics. Key publications include 'Exchange-coupled nanocomposite magnets by nanoparticle self-assembly' in Nature (2002), 'Monodisperse MFe₂O₄ (M = Fe, Co, Mn) nanoparticles' in Journal of the American Chemical Society (2004), 'Enhanced valley splitting in monolayer WSe₂ due to magnetic exchange field' in Nature Nanotechnology (2017), 'Deciphering chemical order/disorder and material properties at the single-atom level' in Nature (2017), and 'Realization of BaZrS₃ chalcogenide perovskite thin films for optoelectronics' in Nano Energy (2020). His work has earned recognition through election as a 2024 Fellow of the American Physical Society for pioneering nanoscale magnetic materials, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, UB Exceptional Scholar Sustained Achievement Award (2022) and Young Investigator Award (2009), NSF CAREER Award (2006), and IBM Research Division Award (2003). Zeng serves as Editor of the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, chairs conferences, and was a Fulbright Scholar researching chalcogenide perovskites in Japan.