The current research goal of his group is to understand and design soft materials that possess unprecedented properties and functions for addressing grant societal challenges. Dr. Zhao is the recipient of NSF Career Award, the Early Career Researcher Award by the AVS Biomaterial Interface Division, the ONR Young Investigator Award, the SES Young Investigator Medal, the Adhesion Society’s Young Scientist Award and several best paper awards. He held the Hunt Faculty Scholar at Duke and d'Arbeloff Career Development Chair and Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor at MIT.