W. N. Lacey Lectureship in Chemical Engineering

Abstract: Skin-inspired electronics enable continuous, noninvasive physiological monitoring and intimate human–machine interfaces by conforming to soft, dynamic biological surfaces. Realizing such systems requires polymers that combine mechanical softness and stretchability with efficient electronic transport—requirements that are in conflict, as strong intermolecular ordering for high mobility often limits deformability. Here, I describe polymer design strategies that address this grand challenge.

I first present semiconducting polymer designs incorporating controlled disorder, enabling stretchability beyond 100% strain while maintaining high charge carrier mobility. I then discuss an important discovery of introducing nanoconfinement of conjugated polymers within elastomeric matrices, where reduced conformational disorder and enhanced π–π stacking improve transport without sacrificing compliance. This allowed us to establish a general principle for realizing high-performance skin-inspired polymer electronic materials. Building on it, we developed skin-inspired systems including semiconductors, conductors, and light-emitting polymers, enabling high-density stretchable transistor arrays and integrated circuits that operate under large deformation while approaching conventional electronic performance. These materials establish the foundation for skin-inspired electronics.

Bio: Bao is K.K. Lee Professor of Chemical Engineering, and by courtesy, Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University. Bao directs the Stanford Wearable Electronics Initiative (eWEAR). She served as the Department Chair of Chemical Engineering from 2018-2022 and 2025.

Prior to joining Stanford in 2004, she was a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff in Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies from 1995-2004. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1995.

Bao is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. She a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Science.

Bao is known for her work on artificial electronic skin, which is enabling a new-generation of skin-like electronics for regaining sense of touch for neuro prosthetics, human-friendly robots, human-machine interface and seamless health monitoring devices. Bao has been named by Nature Magazine as a "Master of Materials". She is a recipient of the VinFuture Prize Female Innovator 2022, ACS Chemistry of Materials Award 2022, Gibbs Medal 2020, Wilhelm Exner Medal 2018, and L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award 2017.

Bao co-founded C3 Nano (acquired by Du Pont) and PyrAmes, which produced materials used in commercial smartphones and FDA-approved blood pressure monitors. Research inventions from her group have also been licensed as foundational technologies for multiple start-ups founded by her students.