About me
I’m Zach, an incoming Assistant Professor of Chemistry at WashU (Fall 2025). Currently, I’m a BIDMaP Fellow at UC Berkeley EECS, and a former postdoc associate at MIT ChemE with Prof. Klavs F. Jensen (2023-2024). I earned my Ph.D. in Chemistry with Prof. Omar M. Yaghi at UC Berkeley (2019-2023) and was an undergrad researcher under Prof. Kyle M. Lancaster at Cornell University (2016-2019).
My research primarily focuses on the intersection of chemical synthesis and materials discovery with artificial intelligence (AI), including a strong emphasis on large language models (LLMs). Additionally, I am dedicated to tackling climate change by utilizing extended structures such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for atmospheric water harvesting. I have also been developing automated platforms for electrochemical C–H reactions. My long-term goal is to usher in a future where user-friendly and reliable AI is routinely accessible to most experimentalists working in wet labs.
For more detailed insights into my work, I invite you to explore my past projects and publications. Also, I am always open to opportunities for giving talks and engaging in discussions that can foster collaboration and innovation in the field of chemistry and AI. Please feel free to reach out to me at zheng.wustl@gmail.com.
Research Interest
- Synthetic chemistry
- Metal–organic frameworks
- Inorganic chemistry
- Crystallography
- Green chemistry
- Atmospheric water harvesting
- Large language models
- Machine learning
- Data mining
- Laboratory automation
- High throughput experimentation
Biography



● B. A. Cornell University (2019)
Chemical Biology & Chemistry
● Ph. D. University of California, Berkeley (2023)
Chemistry
● Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2023–2024)
Chemical Engineering
● Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Berkeley - Bakar Institute of Digital Materials for the Planet (2024–)
Electrical Engineering &
Computer Sciences
Academic Services
● Reviewer
- ACS PRF Grants
- ACS Central Science
- ACS Materials Letters
- Catalysis Communications
- Chem
- Chemical Science
- Chemical Communications
- Chemistry – A European Journal
- Chemistry – An Asian Journal
- ChemNanoMat
- Communication Materials
- Digital Discovery
- Environmental Science & Technology Letters
- Journal of Applied Polymer Science
- Journal of Chemical Education
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Materials Horizons
- Nature Communications
- Science Advances
- Sustainable Materials and Technologies
● Guest Speaker
- EPFL Machine Learning Seminar
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ABPDU Seminar
- Chalmers AI in Chemistry Seminar
- BIDMaP Seminar
- MIT Nano Explorations Webinar
- Pattern Swarma LLM and Multi-Agents Webinar
- KAUST Workshop
- NUS ACS Conference Workshop
- Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development Workshop
- MLPDS Consortium Conference
- UC Berkeley EarthTech2023 Symposium
- Koushare AI4CM Symposium
- Penn State University Postdoc-to-PI Symposium
- Kavli ENSI 10 Year Anniversary Symposium
News

The 30 top PhDs, working on solutions to climate change
Inflection Award | March 10, 2025

Advancing reticular chemistry with large language models
UC Berkeley CDSS News | February 24, 2025

Editorial and cover art featured in ACS Central Science
ACS Diversity and Inclusion Cover Art Series | December 25, 2024

Atmospheric water harvesting with nanoscale MOFs
MIT.nano Explorations Webinar Series | November 6, 2024

Finalists of the Dream Chemistry Award 2024 selected

Kavli ENSI 10th Anniversary Symposium
Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute | April 19, 2024
ChatGPT for Reticular Chemists
EPFL ISIC ML Seminars | December 12, 2024

ChatGPT predicts synthesis conditions for MOFs

Turning ChatGPT into a ‘chemistry assistant’

UC Berkeley team tests portable harvester device to pull water out of air
