Zhenan Bao, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, California

Arriving in the United States from China in 1990, Zhenan Bao felt a sense of urgency to complete her education. “As an immigrant, I wanted a US degree as soon as possible so I could start my career here.” Since she had family in the Chicago area, she moved there. She already had a strong background in engineering from her education in China and an interest in polymers fostered by a summer programme at Nanjing University.

She learned that, with her existing education, she could get into graduate school at Chicago University without completing a BS. By a stroke of luck, Luping Yu, an expert in polymer chemistry, had also recently arrived. Bao says she was fortunate because Yu was the only polymer chemist in the university at the time.

After her PhD with Yu, she had to choose between a temporary fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, and a permanent position at Bell Labs. Bao's long-term goal was academia, but she decided on Bell Labs, with its basic research emphasis and history of publishing. “People told me, if you go to Bell labs, you can still go into academia later,” she says (see CV).

Good mentoring again made the difference. At Bell Labs, manager Elsa Reichmanis, currently director of the materials research department, told her to take her time and “just talk to people and decide what you want to work on”. That flexibility, friendly and helpful colleagues, and having a female mentor in a male-dominated discipline helped Bao find her bearings. “It is important to see a woman being successful.” Bao was impressed that Reichmanis was able to excel at Bell, gain membership of the US National Academy of Engineering, serve as the American Chemical Society president, and still raise four children. Other mentors at Bell Labs included Andy Lovinger, now at the polymer division of the National Science Foundation, and Ed Chandross.

Bao took Reichmanis's advice and soon found a project in plastic transistors where she could use her knowledge in a different application. “I thought my background would allow me to contribute to that project immediately,” Bao says.

She didn't feel ready to move back to academia until a year ago. Now she is comfortable having made the jump and is guiding graduate students. And she aims to help them the way her many mentors helped her.