chemistry

Stephen Z. D. Cheng

Stephen Z. D. Cheng is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Stephen Z. D. Cheng rather than just read about it. In short: Stephen Z. D.

Key takeaways

Stephen Z. D. Cheng belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Stephen Z. D. Cheng to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Stephen Z. D. Cheng from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Stephen Z. D. Cheng (born 1949 in Shanghai) is a Chinese-American polymer scientist and chemical engineer. Cheng is the R.C.Musson & Trustees Professor of Polymer Science, and was the former Dean of the College of Polymer Science & Polymer Engineering at the University of Akron.

Early life and education Cheng received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the East China Normal University in Shanghai in 1977. Cheng received his MSc in polymer science & engineering from the Donghua University also in Shanghai in 1981. Cheng further pursued his study in the United States. He became a graduate student at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1981, and obtained his PhD degree in polymer chemistry in May 1985.

Research and career Cheng became a faculty as an assistant professor of polymer science at the University of Akron in October 1987. He was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1991, and further the professor of polymer science in 1995. Cheng became the Trustees Professor of Polymer Science in September 1998, and the Robert C. Musson Professor of Polymer Science in 2001, all at the University of Akron. From 2001 to 2005, Cheng was the Chairman of the Department of Polymer Science at the University of Akron, and he was appointed Dean of the College of Polymer Science & Polymer Engineering on August 1, 2007. Cheng was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering in 2008 for the development of materials for liquid crystal displays and the elucidation of structure-property relationships in polymeric materials.

Honors and awards Cheng has been awarded,

The Presidential Young Investigator Award, by the White House and the National Science Foundation (NSF), 1991 The American Chemical Society (ACS) Akron Section Award, 1994 The John H. Dillon Medal, from the American Physical Society (APS), 1995 The Mettler-Toledo Award, from the North American Thermal Analysis Society, 1999 The TA-Instrument Award, from the International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 2004 The Cooperative Research Award, from the ACS, 2005 The Polymer Physics Prize, the American Physical Society 2013 Cheng was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2006, Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1994, Fellow of the North American Thermal Analysis Society in 1992, Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2012. In 2008, Cheng was elected Member of the United States National Academy of Engineering and 2011 he was elected Member of the National Academy of Inventors.

References

External links Homepage of Cheng's Group

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stephen Z. D. Cheng

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stephen Z. D. Cheng claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Stephen Z. D. Cheng before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Stephen Z. D. Cheng ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Stephen Z. D. Cheng

In research: Stephen Z. D. Cheng appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Stephen Z. D. Cheng in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Stephen Z. D. Cheng is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1949 births, 21st-century American chemists, 21st-century American engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stephen Z. D. Cheng outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Stephen Z. D. Cheng in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Stephen Z. D. Cheng means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Stephen Z. D. Cheng out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stephen Z. D. Cheng in simple terms?

Stephen Z. D.

Why does Stephen Z. D. Cheng matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Stephen Z. D. Cheng?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Stephen Z. D. Cheng.