Dr. Gao is an Assistant Professor at Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame. He obtained his B.S. and M.S. at Fudan University (China) in 2000 and 2003, respectively. His M.S. research focused on the synthesis of functional polymeric microparticles by polymerization in heterogeneous media. In 2004, he joined Professor Krzysztof Matyjaszewski's research group at Carnegie Mellon University and obtained his doctorate in December 2008. His Ph.D. work focused on the development and application of controlled radical polymerization techniques for the synthesis of functional polymeric materials. In January 2009, he joined the research group of Professor Jean M. J. Frechet at the University of California, Berkeley as a postdoctoral researcher. His research at Berkeley focused on the fundamental design of novel polymeric materials with a broad range of applications including catalysis and energy conversion.

Dr. Gao's research focuses on the design and synthesis of functional polymers with controlled nanostructures by determining of their fundamental structure-property relationships. These materials will meet critical needs in the fields of environmental remediation, energy conversion and biofunctional materials.

Dr. Gao has co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed papers and 3 book chapters. Eight papers appeared in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and 17 in Macromolecules. He received a variety of honors for his research achievements, including the 2010 AkzoNobel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Chemistry, ACS (Pittsburgh Section) Polymer Group Student Award (2008), Guy C. Berry Graduate Research Award at Carnegie Mellon University (2008), and the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad (2007).