Speaker's Name
Hongtao Yu

Title
Dean of the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences

Company Name
Morgan State University

Bio

Dr. Hongtao Yu, Dean of the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences at Morgan State University, and Professor of Chemistry, obtained his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1982 from the University of Science and Technology of China and Master’s degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986. Then he went to Germany and obtained a Doctoral degree in bioorganic chemistry from the Technical University of Munich in 1990. After graduation, he came to the U.S. and did postdoctoral fellowships at Louisiana State University and the University of Texas at Austin. In 1996, he was hired as an assistant professor of chemistry at Jackson State University and promoted to associate professor in 2000 and full professor in 2005. He served as Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Jackson State University starting in 2013 and until 2016, before he moved to Morgan State University.

While serving as Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, he guided the Department to various national distinctions: Top three national programs awarding degrees to African Americans for BS, MS and PhD and top 100 Chemistry Departments for federal funding (National Science Foundation), increasing from $3 million dollars per year in 2003 to over $8 million per year in 2016.

Dr. Yu received numerous awards including the “Stanley C. Israel Award” by the American Chemical Society in 2011 for promoting diversity in the chemical sciences, “Outstanding Contribution to Science” by the Mississippi Academy of Sciences in 2014, “HBCU Pioneer Award” by the National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers in 2015, and “Diversity of Excellence Award” by the Mississippi State Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning in 2016. He also served as the President of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences in 2015-2016.

Dr. Yu’s research includes toxicological studies of various chemicals, design of novel nanomaterials, environmental photochemistry, anticancer drug design and mechanism of action study, and DNA structure and function. He has been the author/co-author for over 120 peer-reviewed publications in international and national renowned journals, over 300 presentations, and author of several book chapters. He is an associate editor for “Journal of Environmental Health Science C: Environmental Toxicology and Carcinogenesis”. He has been an invited speaker by over 40 universities in the U.S. and abroad. His research and education programs have been funded by National Institutes of Health, Army Research Office, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and National Science Foundation.

Session List

How to Create an Innovative Ecosystem in HBCUs
Thursday, February 07th 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM Room: Delaware Suite B- Lobby Level