Prof. WU Chi, PhD, Director of the Food Science and Processing Research Center at Shenzhen University, and Wei Lun Emeritus Chair Professor of Chemistry at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

After graduating with a major in Chemical Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1982, he pursued further studies at Stony Brook University of the State University of New York, USA, under the supervision of Professor Benjamin Chu. He obtained his PhD in Chemistry in 1987 and subsequently worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry at the same university until 1989. From 1989 to 1992, he was affiliated with BASF SE in Germany: he first served as an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellow under the guidance of Dr. Dieter Horn, and was officially employed a year later as the Supervisor of the Laser Light Scattering Laboratory in the Department of Solid State and Polymer Physics. In 1992, he resigned from his permanent position at BASF and joined The Chinese University of Hong Kong as a faculty member, holding successive positions including Lecturer, Reader (1996, skipping the rank of Senior Lecturer), Professor of Chemistry (1999), and Wei Lun Chair Professor of Chemistry (2010-2020). In 1995, he was concurrently appointed as a Professor in the Department of Chemical Physics at the University of Science and Technology of China, and in 1996, he was awarded the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, establishing a second research laboratory at his alma mater, where he now serves as a Guest Professor.

In recognition of his significant contributions to the in-depth understanding of the conformation, dynamics and phase transitions of macromolecular chains in solution, Professor Wu was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 1999 and a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2003 respectively. His research expertise lies in "integrating the achievements of synthetic chemistry, polymer physics and molecular biology to design and conduct definitive experiments that address critical questions related to macromolecules, biology and colloids". His research areas include the design and development of non-viral vectors for molecular drugs; the initial nucleation process of protein aggregation associated with neurodegenerative diseases; the design, synthesis and assembly of functional macromolecules; the dynamics and structure of macromolecular solutions and gel networks; and the molecular characterization of intractable and special polymers. In recent years, his research interests have expanded to food science and processing, particularly the intensive and sophisticated processing of soy protein and other plant-based macromolecules.

For more detailed research information, please visit http://chiwu.chem.cuhk.edu.hk

Polymerization chemistry, polymer physics, and molecular biology, focusing on the design and execution of decisive experiments to answer important questions related to macromolecules, biology, and colloids.

These include: The design and development of non-viral vectors for molecular drugs; the initial nucleation process of protein aggregation associated with neurodegenerative diseases; the design, synthesis, and aggregation of functional macromolecules; the dynamics and structure of macromolecular solutions and gel networks; and the molecular properties of difficult and special polymers.

In recent years, his research interests have further expanded into food science and processing, specifically the advanced processing of soybean protein and other plant macromolecules.

A Concise Textbook of Thermodynamics (2019)

Macromolecular Solutions (2021)

More details can be found at: http://chiwu.chem.cuhk.edu.hk