Hongbo Zeng is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in intermolecular forces and interfacial science, and he is recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada's Academy of Science, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. He received his BSc and MSc degrees at Tsinghua University, followed by a PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Zeng’s research interests are mainly in colloid and interface science, functional materials & nanotechnology, with a specific focus on the intermolecular and surface interactions in soft materials (e.g., polymers, biopolymers) and engineering processes. Zeng has published one book and ~500 peer-reviewed journal articles on related research topics. He serves as an Editor of the journal Advances in Colloid and Interface Science.