From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Zhao worked as a research engineer at the State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy of China investigating the co-gasification and co-combustion of coal and biomass in circulating fluidized bed reactor. He is currently working on the comparative Life Cycle Assesment of biofuel technologies and the conversion of coal, biomass, and carbon-containing waste to liquid fuel, hydrogen, and electricity through gasification and Fisher-Tropsch synthesis.