Taken far too soon, Dr. Gregory Zhang was a renowned scientist, husband, philosopher, father and friend to all. Gregory’s search for knowledge and, in particular, truth guided him throughout his life. He thrived in school earning a PhD in electrochemistry and eventually becoming a world-expert in zinc electrochemistry while enjoying a lengthy career at Teck Corporation. Late in his career, Dr. Zhang became convinced that storing energy in zinc could play a key role in solving renewable energy’s biggest challenge: long-duration energy storage. In an act of vision and faith, in 2012, Gregory stepped out and conceived and then founded e-Zinc.
It was during e-Zinc’s formative years, when resources were scarce, that Gregory came to truly appreciate the vital contribution of University of Waterloo’s engineering coop students and young graduates made to the Company’s early development successes. Gregory also resonated with the Waterloo University motto, “Concordia cum veritate” meaning “in harmony with truth” and often mentioned Waterloo as his favorite university in Canada even before the founding of e-Zinc.
With this in mind, and in honour of his memory, Dr. Zhang’s family has decided to create an endowed award for undergraduate students, in his memory that will support the next generation of engineering students at Waterloo working towards their dreams. Please join us in remembering Gregory by coming together to support his passion for the pursuit of knowledge.
As a tribute and in recognition of Dr. Gregory Zhang’s foundational role at e-Zinc, the Company is delighted and honoured to match all donor contributions towards the fundraising goal of $100,000.