Roseanna N. Zia, PhD

Dave Wollersheim Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Address: E3410 Lafferre Hall

Email: rzia@missouri.edu

Phone: 573.882.6555

Roseanna N. Zia is the Wollersheim Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Missouri–Columbia. Her lab works at the interface of computational physics and cell biology, developing physics-based, AI-guided whole-cell models of bacteria and synthetic cells that explicitly resolve proteins, ribosomes, and nucleic acids. By linking atomistic simulations to coarse-grained models, the group builds simulations in which cell behavior emerges from physics, not just prescribed kinetics, bridging scales from molecules to cell function. They use this framework to study how spatiotemporal organization in the cytoplasm regulates ribogenesis and protein synthesis and to probe ribosome biogenesis in minimal and synthetic cells. The lab also maintains a colloid and rheology program on phase separation, colloidal gels and glasses, and prion-like aggregation in protein formulations.

Zia earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2011 with John F. Brady, working on colloidal hydrodynamics. She then carried out postdoctoral research at Princeton University with William B. Russel before starting her faculty career at Cornell University (2013–2017). She later joined Stanford University, where she earned tenure in Chemical Engineering, and moved her research group to Missouri in 2023.

She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has received major early-career honors including two Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the Office of Naval Research Director of Research Early Career Award, the ONR Young Investigator Award, and the NSF CAREER Award.

She has delivered over 100 invited, keynote, and plenary lectures worldwide and has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Rheology and on the editorial and advisory boards of the AIChE Journal and the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science.

Education

• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from California Institute of Technology
• M.S. in Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering from University of Michigan
• BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Missouri

Experience

• Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering, University of Missouri (2023-2024)
• Wollersheim Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri (2023-present)
• Associate Professor with Tenure, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University (2021-2022)
• By Courtesy, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University (2018-present)
• Otterson Faculty Scholar, Stanford University (2021-present)
• Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University (2017-2020)
• Terman Faculty Fellow, Stanford University School of Engineering (2017-present)
• Assistant Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University (2013-17)
• James C. and Rebecca Q. Morgan Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow, Cornell University (2013-17)
• Postdoctoral Scholar, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University (2011-12)
• Graduate Researcher, Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology (2006-11)
• Delphi Automotive Corp., Engineering Manager, Detroit, Michigan (2001-2006)

Honors

• Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), Division of Biological Physics (2025)
• Observer, USNCTAM National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine (2023)
• Research Council, Taylor Geospatial Institute (2023)
• Sloan Foundation Research Award (2023)
• Named Dave Wollersheim Professor, University of Missouri (2023)
• Corrsin Lecturer, University of Missouri College of Engineering (2021)
• Croft Lecturer, University of Missouri College of Engineering (2021)
• Lee Otterson Faculty Scholar, Stanford University (2021)
• Tau Beta Pi Teaching Award List, Stanford School of Engineering (2020)
• PECASE – Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2019)
  • Nominator: Department of Defense
• PECASE – Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2019)
  • Nominator: National Science Foundation
• Terman Faculty Fellow, Stanford University (2017)
• ONR Director of Research Early Career Award (2017)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Rheology (2016)
• Advisory Board Member, Physics of Fluids (2016)
• NAE Frontiers in Engineering (2015)
• Cornell College of Engineering (Sonny Yau ’72) Teaching Award (2015)
• White House Workshop on the National Strategic Computing Initiative held by Executive Order of President Barack Obama (2015)
• ONR Young Investigator Award (2014)
• NAE Frontiers in Engineering Education (2014)
• Best Paper Award in Session, AIChE Area 1J Fluid Mechanics (2014)
• Cover of the Journal of Rheology, Special Issue, Volume 58, Issue 5 (2014)
• Cover of the Journal of Rheology, Volume 58, Issue 1 (2014)
• Cover of the Society of Rheology Bulletin, Q1 (2014)
• Featured on NSF XSEDE Year 1 Retrospective Report (2014)
• Publication of the Year, Journal of Rheology (2013)
• NSF BRIGE Award, National Science Foundation (2013)
• Cover of the Journal of Rheology, Volume 57, Issue 2 (2013)
• James C. and Rebecca Q. Morgan Faculty Fellow, Cornell University (2013)
• Best Poster, Princeton University Research Symposium, Princeton University (2012)
• NDSEG Fellow, California Institute of Technology (2008-11)
• Everhart Lecturer, California Institute of Technology (2011)
• Graduate Dean’s Award, California Institute of Technology (2011)
• P.E.O. Scholar Award, California Institute of Technology (2010)
• Best Overall Poster, Poster Symposium, California Institute of Technology (2009)
• First Place, Best Poster, International Congress of Rheology (2008)
• Moore Fellow, California Institute of Technology (2006-07)
• Honors Scholar, University of Missouri
• President, Pi Tau Sigma Honor Society for Engineering, University of Missouri chapter
• Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
• National Merit Special Scholarship