Ph.D. - Materials Science and Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - 2020
Professional Preparation
Publications
Designing refractive index fluids of food dye for light propagation through scattering media 2025 - Journal Article
Refractive Index Engineering: Insights from Biological Systems for Advanced Optical Design 2025 - Journal Article
Observation of nanoparticle coalescence during core-shell metallic nanowire growth in colloids via nanoscale imaging 2025 - Journal Article
Transient Optical Clearing Using Absorbing Molecules for <em>Ex Vivo</em> and <em>In Vivo</em> Imaging 2025 - Journal Article
Awards
MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35 - MIT Technology Review [2025]
Foresight Fellowship Program - Foresight Institute [2025]
Scialog Fellow for Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems Initiative - Research Corporation for Science Advancement [2025]
Rising STARs award - The University of Texas System [2024]
Star Mentor Award for Stanford Bio-X Undergraduate Summer Research Program - Stanford University [2023]
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Interdisciplinary Scholar Award - Stanford University [2021]
Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad - China Scholarship Council [2020]
Racheff-Intel Award - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [2020]
Dow Best Presentation Award for Soft Materials Seminar - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [2019]
Conference Travel Awards for Graduate Students - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [2019]
Appointments
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas at Dallas [2024–Present]
The University of Texas at Dallas [2024–Present]
Postdoctoral Scholar
Stanford University [2020–2024]
Stanford University [2020–2024]
News Articles
Accolades: Scientist, Callier Center Leaders Receive Recognition
Dr. Zihao Ou, assistant professor of physics at The University of Texas at Dallas, has been named to MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35 list for 2025 for his groundbreaking research that could revolutionize the optical imaging of living systems.
Yellow food dye found in chips and candy corn turns skin transparent in mice, study says
Ou, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Texas at Dallas, is the first author of a new study that uses food dye to make mouse skin temporarily transparent.