Rong Zhu 朱戎

Education

B.S. PKU (2010)

Awards

2022     Asian Core Program Lectureship Award (Singapore and Korea) 

2022     NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund （国家自然科学基金优秀青年科学基金） 

2020     Huang Tingfang/Xinhe Outstanding Young Scholar Award （黄廷方信和杰出青年学者）

2020     Thieme Chemistry Journal Award  

2016     Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad

Rong was born and raised in Ma'anshan, China. Rong did his Ph.D. study at MIT, where he worked in the lab of Prof. Steve Buchwald. His graduate research focused on transition metal-catalyzed alkene transformations, including copper-catalyzed enantioselective lactonization reactions via radicals. After he obtained Ph.D. degree in 2015, he performed postdoctoral research with Prof. Tim Swager. In the Swager lab he worked on diverse topics at the interface between chemistry, materials and engineering, including RFID sensors, responsive polymers and anion recognition.

Rong did his undergraduate research in Profs. Zhen Yang and Jiahua Chen's lab at Peking University, China, where he studied the total synthesis of natural macrolactams. During the sophomore year he spent a summer working in the lab of Prof. John Wolfe at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Rong started his independent career at College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University in March 2018. 

Rong enjoys playing basketball and is a Celtics fan since high school.

At PKU, Rong's lab develops new catalytic transformations and structure designs that create new carbon-chain macromolecules possessing unique material properties. The lab is known by inventing a new family of polymerization reactions, condensation polymerization of propargylic electrophiles (CPPE), which enables unprecedented cumulene-based functional polymers.In 2024, Rong was promoted to associated professor with tenure.