Dr. WeiDong Zhu is currently the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a Professor of Physics and former chair in the Department of Applied Science and Technology at Saint Peter’s University. He was also the former Director of the Center for Microplasma Science and Technology (CMST). Dr. Zhu earned his B.S. in Physics/Education and M.Eng. in Material Science and Engineering from Soochow University in Suzhou China in 1998 and 2001, respectively and his Ph. D. in Physics and Material Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ in 2005. Following his graduation, Dr. Zhu worked in the Center for Bioelectrics at Old Dominion University and at the Non-Thermal Plasma Science and Technology Group in Stevens Institute of Technology as a post-doctoral research associate from 2005-2007. He joined Saint Peter’s University as a tenure-track assistant professor in 2007, and was subsequently tenured in 2013 and promoted to the ranks of associate professor and full professor in 2013 and 2018, respectively. While at Saint Peter’s University, Dr. Zhu has served on various committees, including most notably the curriculum committee (as chair in 2015-2018), the committee on graduate programs (as an elected member in 2014-2017) and the faculty senate committee (as vice president in 2016-2018). Dr. Zhu has been the advisor to the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and Sigma Pi Sigma (∑∏∑) – the honor society of physics students, Saint Peter’s Chapter since 2010 and has guided SPS in securing multiple student grants from the American Institute of Physics (AIP), as well as receiving outstanding chapter awards from SPS. Dr. Zhu has also been an active participant of the American Chemical Society’s SEED program, as well as other high school outreach programs, opening his research lab to promising high school students to take part in research activities in the summer and in regular semesters. Many students who worked as summer interns in CMST ended up obtaining medals in local, regional and national science fairs.
Professionally, Dr. Zhu is a world renowned researcher in the field of microplasmas. His research is focused on the fundamental studies of atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasmas and their applications in biology, biomedicine, dentistry and environment, air pressure plasma devices, excimer light sources, and self-organized pattern formation in DC noble gas discharges. Dr. Zhu has been PI and co-PI on numerous research projects sponsored by the United States Federal Government, the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), as well as the American Chemical Society – Petroleum Research Fund. Dr. Zhu is a member of the American Physical Society (APS) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a founding member of the International Society for Plasma Medicine (ISPM). Dr. Zhu has co-authored more than 120 conference publications, over 50 peer-reviewed journal papers and two book chapters, one encyclopedia entry and holds two U.S. patents and six Chinese patents.
