Xiaozhou (John) Zhang

Dr. Xiaozhou (John) Zhang is the president (2023) of the East Chapter of the Chinese American Chemical Society (E-CACS) and the Director of Communication of National CACS. He is a Life Member of CACS and has been serving as the Executive Board Member since 2018. Dr. Zhang built and managed the new website for E-CACS and is the designer of event flyers and the new logo of E-CACS. He organized the first Strategic Planning Workshop and the first Youth Science Fair in 2023. He also coordinated many online seminars and society social events during the past years.    

Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Microbiology and Environmental Engineering from Nanjing Agricultural University. He then worked as a Postdoc at Georgia State University and Research Scientist at Virginia Tech.​ As the CTO, he co-founded Gate Fuels Inc. in 2011, focusing on Small Business Innovation Programs for biochemical production from cellulosic biomass. From 2014 to 2017, he worked at Locus Solutions LLC as Director of R&D with a focus on the innovation and application of biotechnology in the petroleum industry. Starting from scratch, he led a team at Locus Solutions and established the microbial-enhanced oil recovery platform with successful mass production of cell culture and commercial field applications.

Dr. Zhang now is a Senior Technical Staff at ExxonMobil with a major focus on biocatalysis and applied biotechnology.​ He serves as Subject Matter Expert at ExxonMobil in applied microbiology, synthetic biology, molecular biology, metabolic engineering, bioengineering, bioconversion, fermentation & scale-up, and petroleum biotechnology.​

John's pioneering work, as evidenced by a paper in Scientific Reports  and a patent application, laid the groundwork for discovering,  designing, and deploying new biomarkers for detecting microbial  corrosion—a several billion-dollar problems in the oil field. His  contributions led to the groundbreaking Joint Industry Project with  7 major oil & gas and service companies aiming at deploying a  biomarker showed in his research paper and furthering research and  development in this critical area. This initiative promises to  revolutionize water-based detection and monitoring of  microbial-influenced corrosion, as outlined in John’s patent  application, and highlighted in a news article on DNV's website.
In 2022, his work of using engineered yeast for the production and secretion of specialty chemicals was featured by ACS Synthetic Biology on the cover page. His innovative work was recognized for the 2021 R&D Excellence Award by ExxonMobil.​

He has authored 52 peer-reviewed journal articles and is the inventor of many patents in applied microbiology and biotechnology fields. ​Xiaozhou is also active in the society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB). He served as session chair on the "Biocatalysis at Scale" session in 2022 and is the session chair for SIMB 2023 Annual Meeting in Biocatalysis. ​ John is also the mentor for the ACS BIOT Mentoring program.

Dr.  Yunlong Zhang is the chair (2022) of the Tri-state Chinese American  Chemical Society and have been serving on the board member since 2015.  Dr. Zhang obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The Ohio State University in 2010, and completed a postdoc training at MIT. He joined ExxonMobil in 2014 and is interested in applying basic science and fundamental approaches to solved practical problems in  engineering and industry. He has been leading research  collaborations on imaging petroleum molecules by applying noncontact atomic force microscopy to the petroleum field, which have led to new  directions and potential applications, such as enabling new solutions to  mitigate carbon emissions and climate change.  Dr. Zhang has authored over 60 publications, delivered over 40 invited  presentations including keynote, in addition to a few patent, book  chapters or books. He has been actively involved in scientific or  professional societies, in addition to tri-state CACS  and national CACS. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor for  ACS journal Energy&Fuels. He is the founder and chair of the 11-member  industry subcommittee of ACS ENFL Division in 2022, after chaired the  20-member C&T subcommittee during 2018-2022. He was a major  organizer for the major international conference PetroPhase2020  and PetroPhase2021 by chairing the technical committee comprised of 29  experts. He has been recognized by a number of awards, including the  2021 Rising Star Award by ACS Energy&Fuels,  the 2020 R&D  Excellence Award by ExxonMobil, and the 2019 Glenn Award by  ACS ENFL Division.  

Wenmei Xue has served as a board member for Tri-State Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS) since 2015. She holds a BA in Physical Chemistry and a MS in Inorganic Chemistry from Lanzhou University, as well as a PhD in Organometallic Chemistry from the University of Hong Kong. She is currently a senior chemist at BASF Corporation. A significant part of her research has focused on catalysts for environmental applications. She was the recipient of the 2010 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award from the R&D Council of New Jersey and the 2015 Excellence in Catalysis Award from the Catalysis Society of Metropolitan New York, in recognition of her contribution to the discovery and development of Cu–CHA catalysts for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx from diesel vehicles.

Dachao has served as a board member of Tri-State Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS) since 2015. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the East China University of Science and Technology. He is currently a Research Scientist in The Dow Chemical Company. He has over 10 years of experience in supercritical fluids assisted polymer processing. Dr. Li is currently a lab manager and portfolio leader, responsible for the research, development, and commercialization of novel functional compounds in wire and cable applications. 

Jasmine Lu has served as a board member for Tri-State Chinese American  Chemical Society (CACS) since 2013 and is a life-time member of the  CACS. She holds a BS degree in Chemistry from Peking University, a MS  from Southern Methodist University, and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from  Dartmouth College. She is currently the Senior Strategic Collaboration  Specialist at the Innovation Center of Shimadzu Scientific Instruments.  Prior to join Shimadzu, she worked in pharmaceutical and CRO/CMO  industries for over ten years. She joined American Chemical Society  (ACS) since 1995, and has also served as an Alternate-Councilor in ACS  North Jersey Chapter and in the Board of NJACS Mass Spectrometry  Discussion Group. 

Li Xu has served as a board member for Tri-State Chinese American  Chemical Society (CACS) since 2014 and is a life-time member of the  Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS). He obtained his BS and MS  degrees in Chemistry from Nanjing University and Ph.D. degree in  Chemistry from Stevens Institute of Technology. He is currently Senior  Research Investigator in Research and Development at International  Flavors & Fragrances. He is also a member of American Chemical  Society (ACS) and American Physical Society (APS). 

Yabin Lei has served as a board member for Tri-State Chinese American  Chemical Society (CACS) since 2012 and is a life-time member of the  Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS). He obtained his BS degree in  Chemistry from Nankai University and Ph.D. in chemistry from Wayne State  University. He is currently the Research Director of Delivery Materials  and Technology at International Flavors & Fragrances and is  responsible for the research, development and commercialization of novel  delivery systems for fragrance and flavor applications. He is also a  member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and Controlled Release  Society (CRS) and has served both societies in various capacities. 

Dr. “Mark” Yueqian Zhen is a life-time member of the Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS), and a member of American Chemical Society (ACS). Mark first participated in CACS activity while postdoctoring at the University of Chicago and has been actively involved in Tri-State CACS activities since 2006.

Mark received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Shandong University and his Ph.D. from SUNY at Buffalo via a CGP exchange program.

Mark was a Lead R&D Manager at Dow Chemical Company and specialized in the formulation and delivery of a volatile plant growth regulator for agricultural application since 2006. Mark started his career as a Research Scientist in Procter and Gamble in its laundry division to formulate its next generation liquid Tide™ detergent. He developed 2-in-1 technologies that went into Liquid Tide with a Touch of Downy™. He then moved to P&G’s Corporate Engineering to work on a wide range of P&G’s cleaning products. In 2001, Mark joined IFF R&D as a Research Fellow to develop fragrance delivery technologies. Since 2000, he has been developing formulations containing volatile molecules as the key ingredient. Mark has over 20 granted patents and over a dozen scientific publications.

Mark can be reached at MarkYZhen@yahoo.com.

Wendy Zhong has served as a board member for Tri State Chinese American  Chemical Society (Tris CACS) since 2008. As the vendor show director of  Tris CACS, she successfully organized two vendor show program during  annual symposium for the past two years. Wendy received her BS degree in  Chemistry from Peking University in Beijing, China and her Ph.D. in  Analytical Chemistry from University of Delaware and Virginia  Commonwealth University. Currently, she is a principal scientist, in  Global Process Chemistry at Merck Research Laboratory in Summit, NJ. She  is responsible for two mass spectrometry labs (Rahway and Summit),  supporting structure elucidation of impurities and degradation products  in the active pharmaceutical ingredient and drug product in late stage  pipeline. Prior to join Merck/Schering-Plough, she is a principal  scientist in Wyeth, where she held many positions, including project  team leaders and led the advancement of cardiovascular, infectious  disease, and oncology projects from discovery phase into development  track. Wendy has authored many technical publications and invited  lectures in national and international conferences and universities. She  also chaired sessions in several symposiums. 

Fanwen Zeng has served as a board member for Tri-State Chinese American  Chemical Society (CACS) since 2007 and is the president-elect in 2011.  He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois,  Urbana-Champaign and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of  California, Berkeley. Since 1999, he has worked for The Dow Chemical  Company (formerly, Rohm and Haas Company) as a material chemist in  Spring House, Pennsylvania. He has led commercializing a variety of  products to serve markets including Plastics Additives, Coatings,  Consumer care and Microbial Control. He has been a member of American  Chemical Society (ACS), Society of Cosmetic Chemist (SCC), Controlled  Release Society (CRS). He also serves as a committee member of CRS’s  Consumer and Diversified Products Division. He is also serving as a  co-chair of Asia Diversity Network (ADN) of the Dow Chemical Company. 

Fangbiao Li has served as a board member for Tri State Chinese American  Chemical Society (Tris CACS) since 2007. As the vendor show director of  Tris CACS, he successfully started vendor show program during annual  symposium for the past three years. His academic experience includes a  PhD degree in Chemistry from UCLA and postdoctoral research in Chemistry  at Princeton University. Currently he works as a Section Leader in DMPK  department of Merck Research Laboratory. He leads a team of scientists  to provide PK support for drug discovery projects. He is actively  involved in scientific communities and he is also serving on the board  of NJACS Mass Spectrometry Discussion Group. 

Duxi Zhang has been involved in Tri-state CACS planning activities since  2006 and was elected president in 2009. He holds a PhD degree in  Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University and a MS degree in organic  analysis from Shandong University. He works as a Senior Research  Investigator in the Bioanalytical Sciences department within  Bristol‑Myers Squibb R&D in its Princeton research facility. During  his time in BMS, he led the bioanalysis support for NDA approval of  entecavir (BaracludeÔ), a novel treatment for hepatitis B. He currently  leads a team of scientists supporting BMS development projects in  infectious disease, oncology, cardiovascular and neuroscience areas. He  is a member of ACS, ASMS, and AAPS and a regular reviewer of Journal of  Chromatography B. Outside his work, he is actively involved in local  scientific communities. He served on the board of NJACS Mass  Spectrometry Discussion Group from 2003 to 2007 and was the Chair for  2007. In his spare time, he also coaches kids soccer and enjoys playing  volleyball.