• Ph.D. (Polymer Science) — The University of Akron, Akron, OH — 12/1999
  Title of Dissertation: The Study of Electrospinning and the Physical Properties of Electrospun Nanofibers
  (Advisor: Professor Darrell H. Reneker)
• B.S. (Polymer Chemistry) — University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, P. R. China — 07/1993

• Associate Professor – Department of Chemistry, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology – Rapid City, South Dakota (7/1/2008 – Present)
• Assistant Professor – Department of Chemistry, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology – Rapid City, South Dakota (6/1/2003 – 6/30/2008)
• Staff Research Scientist – Paffenbarger Research Center of the American Dental Association (PRC-ADA)/Polymer Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – Gaithersburg, Maryland (11/1/2001 – 5/31/2003)
• Guest Research Scientist – (Contract through Universal Technology Corporation, Dayton, Ohio), Polymer Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) – Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (7/1/2000 – 10/30/2001)
• Postdoctoral Fellow – Department of Polymer Science, the University of Akron – Akron, Ohio (10/1/1999 – 6/302000)

• Electrospun Polymeric, Ceramic, Metallic, Carbonaceous Nanofibers and Their Applications

Dr. Hao Fong is one of the pioneers and renowned scientists in the research field of “Electrospinning and Nanofibers”, and he is currently an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Chemistry at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T).  His highest degree is a Ph.D. earned in 1999 from the Department of Polymer Science at the University of Akron (in Ohio), and his Ph.D. advisor is Dr. Darrell H. Reneker.  Prior to joining the faculty at the SDSM&T in June 2003, he worked as a guest research scientist (on-site contractor) in the Polymer Branch at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and as a staff research scientist in the Paffenbarger Research Center of the American Dental Association (PRC-ADA)/the Polymer Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Maryland, for a total of three years.

In the recent nine years, besides teaching numerous undergraduate and/or graduate courses (in both “Chemistry” and “Materials” fields) including “Chemistry Survey (CHEM 106)”, “Organic and Biochemistry (CHEM 108) and its associated lab (CHEM 108L)”, “Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry (CHEM 316)”, “Polymer Chemistry (CHEM 426/526)”, “Chemistry of Materials (MES 604)”, and “Nanochemistry (NANO 717)”, he has managed to establish a vigorous research program on “Electrospun Polymeric, Ceramic, Metallic, Carbonaceous Nanofibers and Their Applications”.  His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the State of South Dakota with the total funding amount (until 2011) over $3,500,000.  His research activities at SDSM&T have resulted in ~75 peer-reviewed articles (including the ones that are currently under review), 9 book chapters, 5 US patents, and many symposium proceedings and/or presentations.  Ten students have earned their graduate degrees in “Materials Engineering and Science (MES)”, “Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (NANO)”, or “BioMedical Engineering (BME)” under his supervision.  Presently, his research group has 2 postdoctoral research scientists, 1 visiting scholar/professor, 2 Ph.D. students (one is in the MES program and one is in the NANO program), and 2 M.S. students (in the MES program).  Additionally, he organized two international symposia at the “American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting” and “Materials Research Society (MRS) National Meeting”, edited a book, served as a reviewer for numerous scientific journals and/or funding agencies, and served as a member in several committees/councils at the SDSM&T and/or in the State of South Dakota.