Hongbo Zeng is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in intermolecular forces and interfacial science, a Fellow of The Canadian Academy of Engineering and The Royal Society of Canada. He received his BSc and MSc at Tsinghua University and PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Zeng’s research interests are in colloid and interface science, functional materials & nanotechnology, with a special focus on the intermolecular and surface interactions in soft matter (e.g., polymers, biopolymers, biological systems) and engineering processes (e.g., oil production, mineral processing). He has published over 500 peer-reviewed research articles in top journals, 11 book chapters, and one book. He has received many awards for his work, such as the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award, Martha Cook Piper Research Prize, Engineering Research Award, Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award and Great Supervisor Award of the University of Alberta, The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering Lectureship Award, International Award for Outstanding Young Chemical Engineer, CSCHE Innovation Award of The Chemical Institute of Canada, the NSERC Steacie Fellowship, and the van der Waals Prize.