Yuanbing Mao, PhD, is the Department Chair of and a professor of Chemistry at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, USA. Having obtained his B.Sc. degree from Xiangtan University, M.Sc. degree from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and his postdoc training at the University of California at Los Angeles, he spent most of his early academic career working in South Texas before taking up his present appointment at IIT. He has received several awards, including the Department of Defense Young Investigator Award and the Outstanding Mentorship Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research, and is a recipient of the DOE Visiting Faculty Program.