Dr. Helen Zha received her B.Sc. (2007) from MIT and her Ph.D. (2013) from Northwestern University in Materials Science & Engineering. After pursuing postdoctoral research at Eindhoven University of Technology and UC Berkeley, Helen started as a tenure-track assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering in 2018. Helen has received an NSF CAREER Award, published 24 peer-reviewed journal articles and awarded 2 patents to date. Additionally, Helen currently sits on the Scientific Advisory Council of Materials Innovation Initiative, a non-profit organization aiming to accelerate the development of next-generation sustainable materials.