Prof. Yusheng Zhao has been the Senior Advisor to the President and a Chair Professor at the Eastern Institute for Advanced Study (EIAS) since Jan. 2023. He previously served at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) as the Acting Vice President of Research, the Director of the Office of Scientific Research, the Dean of the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, and Chair Professor in the Department of Physics.

Prof. Zhao received his B.S. and M.S. from Peking University in 1982 and 1985, respectively, and his Ph.D. from the State University of New York (Stony Brook) in 1992. From 1992 to 1996, he conducted his postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology and Los Alamos National Laboratory. From 1996 to 2012, Dr. Zhao served as a Staff Scientist and Team Leader at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). From 2010 to 2016, he was the Executive Director of High Pressure Science and Engineering Center (HiPSEC, a DOE/NNSA Center of Excellence). Prof. Zhao was a member of the Board of Directors of the Material Research Society (MRS) from 2019 to 2021.