UConn Names New Engineering Dean

STORRS, CT — The University of Connecticut College of Engineering has a new dean.

Ji-Cheng "JC" Zhao's first official day in Storrs is scheduled for Aug. 12.

Zhao currently serves as the department chair of Materials Science and Engineering and Clark Distinguished Chair Professor of the University of Maryland, College Park.

Zhao joined the University of Maryland in 2019. There, he managed complex budgets, led cross-functional teams, building industry partnerships, and engaged in development work.

Zhao’s research has focused on the design of advanced alloys and coatings, additive manufacturing (3D printing) of alloys and composites, materials science methodologies, computational thermodynamics and kinetics, and hydrogen/energy storage materials.

Prior to his tenure at the University of Maryland, Zhao was a professor at Ohio State University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and also served as a program director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy), managing approximately $100 million in projects to develop energy-efficient and green technologies.

Zhao earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in MSE from Central South University in China. He then earned his doctorate in MSE from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.