Dr. Zhao Jun joined the Department of Biology in 2019 with his expertise in environmental catalysis, particularly in biomass conversion, biowastes utilization, biorefinery, bioenergy and wastewater treatment, promoting the development of a green, circular economy. With an impressive portfolio of high-impact papers, a proven track-record in securing research grants and other scholarly achievements, he has already established an emerging standing in the international scene as a rising academic.

Through pioneering studies, Dr. Zhao has achieved a series of technological breakthroughs in biomass resource utilization through groundbreaking research. By developing a one-step strategy and reaction system for crucial upstream and downstream reactions centred around the biomass platform chemical 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, his approach to lignocellulose valorisation notably streamlines the reaction process, eliminates the need for intermediate purification and separation, and substantially lowers operational costs.

Furthermore, Dr. Zhao has developed clay-based catalysts that increase the yield of refining products from waste plastics from 40-50% to over 90%. It reduces the reaction operating temperature from several hundred degrees Celsius to below 400, which enables a significant reduction in energy consumption and an increase in product value. With financial support from the Information and Technology Fund (ITF), the project has entered the pre-commercialisation stage, attracting collaboration invitations from local energy and waste recycling companies. This research will establish an impact case for the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

The recognition within the scientific community is exemplified by Dr. Zhao’s academic achievements. He has published more than 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals, with over 70% of which in the world’s top 10% journals according to CiteScore Percentile (SciVal). His Field-Weighted Citation Impact of 1.61 and H-index of 25 indicate the influence and relevance of his work. He has also served as an Editorial Board Member or Guest Editor for top 5% journals such as Bioresource Technology,Environmental Pollution and Energy, Ecology and Environment etc.

Over the past three years, Dr. Zhao has enjoyed remarkable success in securing external competitive grants, including eight projects as Principle Investigator (PI) from the General Research Fund (GRF), the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC), among others. Dr. Zhao has also been awarded the first-ever MTR Research Fund for HKBU. He has received funding from the Hong Kong Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) for three consecutive years, while being one of only two HKBU scholars in the past decade to obtain funding from the ITF Theme-based Scheme. These grants have cumulatively provided Dr. Zhao with more than HKD 22 million in funding.

These achievements and recognition from the scientific community as well as the public and private sectors demonstrate the ground-breaking progress made by Dr. Zhao as a young scholar. The Selection Committee takes pleasure in awarding him the President’s Award for Outstanding Performance as Early Career Researcher.