- Dow Chemical Company Faculty Scholar and Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Co-Chair of Molecular Science and Engineering in the Beckman Institute of Advanced Science and Technology
- Award holder of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2025
Dr. Diao’s group has been developing fundamental understanding of molecular assembly, interfacial phenomenon and innovative methodologies for printing functional materials. The group also has extensive expertise in multiscale morphology characterizations of polymers and soft matter, interfacial modifications and characterizations, and electronic device fabrications for renewable energy and healthcare.
She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2012. Her doctoral thesis was on understanding heterogeneous nucleation of pharmaceuticals by designing polymeric substrates. In her subsequent postdoctoral training at Stanford University, she pursued research in the thriving field of printed electronics.
She has over 100 publications which have been cited close to 10,000 times. Her work has been frequently featured in scientific journals and news media. She is named to the MIT Technology Review’s annual list of Innovators Under 35 as a pioneer in nanotechnology and materials. She is also a recipient of NSF CAREER Award, NASA Early Career Faculty Award, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award and was selected as a Sloan Research Fellow in Chemistry as one of the “very best scientific minds working today”.