Meet the Team

PI: Jiahan Zou, Ph.D.

Jiahan joined Montana State University (MSU) in August 2026 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences. Before joining MSU, she was trained and worked at the University of California, Davis, for 11 years. Jiahan’s research lies at the intersection of materials science, chemistry, and food and agricultural systems. She aims to build a collaborative, diverse, and supportive research group that empowers the next generation of scientists. Together, the group addresses critical societal challenges in agricultural and food systems through the design and engineering of functional biomaterials derived from naturally available resources using interdisciplinary approaches. Outside lab, Jiahan is a foodie and loves cooking!

Education

Ph.D. in Biological Systems Engineering, University of California, Davis, 2022

MS. in Textiles, University of California, Davis, 2019

B.E. in Textiles Engineering, Donghua University, 2016