International clean energy expert Jim Zheng joins UB as Empire Innovation Professor

by Jane Stoyle Welch

Zheng, who returns to UB after a decorated 30+ year career in academia and national laboratories, has been named an Empire Innovation Professor in UB’s Department of Electrical Engineering.

“Jim joins our department at an extremely fortuitous and critical time, as New York State seeks to make key strategic investments in emerging technologies for clean energy. He will help to spearhead efforts with our existing excellent faculty in the areas of nanotechnology, energy systems, and transportation. His outstanding success in translating his research into the commercial sphere will also allow him to interact effectively with industry,” says Jonathan Bird, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering. “We are all delighted that Jim has decided to join us and look forward to high-profile developments in his research in the coming years.”

Prior to joining UB, Zheng was a Sprint Eminent Scholar Chair and a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Florida A&M University and Florida State University.

“Jim was a pioneer in many ways in our department,” said Sastry Pamidi, PhD, MBA, chair of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “His work on energy storage devices was innovative and he was a respected member of our faculty. Our department and the college wish him the best at the University at Buffalo both personally and professionally. We will continue working with him collaboratively.”

A Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Zheng has been awarded 21 patents, of which five have been licensed by private companies. He is the founder of General Capacitor LLC and a co-founder of Bing Energy International Inc.

Zheng’s research focus is in the areas of nanomaterials and nanotechnology, energy storage materials and devices, fuel cells, and photonic and chemical sensors. He has published more than 160 articles in scholarly journals and 140 papers in conference proceedings, and is member of the Materials Research Society, the Electrochemical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

His research has been funded by numerous federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Department of Defense.

His many awards and honors include the National Research Council Fellow Award in 1993, the Army Research & Development Achievement Award in 1997, the NASA Faculty Research Award in 1999, and the Progress Energy Professional Development Award in 2005.

Zheng received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Fudan University in China, and his master’s and PhD in electrical engineering from UB in 1986 and 1990, respectively. Prior to his career in academia, Zheng worked at the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate of the US Army Research Laboratory in Fort Monmouth, N.J.

The Empire Innovation Program (SUNY EIP) is a state-funded competitive grant program dedicated to recruiting and retaining world-class faculty at the State University of New York. EIP scholars drive innovation, enhance partnerships with business and industry, increase tech transfer, create opportunities for student research, and increase the competitiveness of SUNY’s professional and graduate education programs.