Stanford’s Zhenan Bao Is the Inaugural Winner of the $550,000 VinFuture Prize

Zhenan Bao, the K. K. Lee Professor in the School of Engineering and chair of the department of chemical engineering at Stanford University, is the inaugural winner of the VinFuture Prize. The VinFuture Prize is supported by the VinFuture Foundation, an independent nonprofit established by Phạm Nhật Vượng, founder and chairman of Vingroup Corporate, and his wife, Phạm Thu Hương, to create meaningful change in the everyday lives of millions by recognizing and rewarding transformative innovation in sci-tech. The prize, along with a $550,000 award, was given out in a ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Dr. Bao was awarded this prize for scientific advancements due to her pioneering work on the development of skin-inspired electronics and their applications to a range of medical and energy applications. She has developed a wide range of novel molecular design concepts for organic electronic materials and fabrication methods.

Her creation of novel organic materials with skin-like functions, such as stretchability, self-healing, and biodegradability, is changing the ways humans will interact with electronics. They allow electronics to seamlessly interface with the human body. Bao invented the skin-like “BodyNet,” a soft, integrated, wireless tag that includes sensors, screens, and smart devices that can be attached or implanted into the human body. These include intracranial pressure monitors, blood flow monitors, and the means to track body movements.

Professor Bao joined the faculty at Stanford University in 2004. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago.