Yilin Zhang
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Assistant Professor
Biography
Dr. Yilin Zhang is an 1855 Assistant Professor jointly appointed in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at Michigan State University. His research vision is to leverage polymer and biopolymer nanotechnology to tackle pressing challenges in sustainable agriculture by enhancing critical plant functions, including disease and climate resilience, carbon capture, biomanufacturing, and stress sensing. Dr. Zhang’s team integrates polymer chemistry, nanofabrication, advanced spectroscopy and spectrometry, multi-omics, and machine learning to elucidate nanomaterial–plant interactions. Their long-term goal is to enable the high-throughput, rational design of nano-enabled agrochemicals that drive precision agriculture and promote sustainability in global food systems.
Education
- Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2021
- B.S., Environmental Engineering, Beihang University, 2016
Research Lab
Zhang Research GroupSelected Publications
- Zhang, Y., Shin, J., Sun, H., Chang, H., Martinez, M.R., Eutsey, L., Yan, J., Cao, Y., Giraldo, J.P., Matyjaszewski, K., Sheen, J., Tilton, R.D., Marelli, B., Lowry, G.V. (2025) High Aspect Ratio Polymer Nanocarriers for Gene Delivery and Expression in Plants. Nano Letters, 25(2), 681-690.
- Zhang, Y., Cao, Y., Jiang, W., Ma, Q., Shin, J., Sun, H., Cui, J., Chen, Y., Giraldo, J.P., Strano, M.S., Lowry, G.V., Sheen, J., Marelli, B. (2024). Polymeric Nanocarriers Autonomously Cross the Plant Cell Wall and Enable Protein Delivery for Stress Sensing. Advanced Materials, 2409356.
- Zhang, Y., Martinez, M.R., Sun, H., Sun, M., Yin, R., Yan, J., Marelli, B., Giraldo, J.P., Matyjaszewski, K., Tilton, R.D., Lowry, G.V. (2023). Charge, Aspect Ratio and Plant Species Affect Uptake Efficiency and Translocation of Polymeric Agrochemical Nanocarriers. Environmental Science & Technology, 57(22), 8269-8279.
- Zhang, Y., Fu, L., Jeon, S., Yan, J., Giraldo, J.P., Matyjaszewski, K., Tilton, R.D., Lowry, G.V. (2022). Star Polymers with Designed Reactive Oxygen Species Scavenging and Agent Delivery Functionality Promote Plant Stress Tolerance. ACS Nano, 16(3), 4467-4478.
