degree from ETH Zurich (Switzerland) in 1986 and a Ph.D. from Stanford University (United States) in 1990.

In 1992 he worked as Werner Fellow at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland).

Zenobi's research areas include: laser-based analytical chemistry, electrospray and laser-assisted mass spectrometry, laser-surface interactions, near-field optical microscopy / spectroscopy as well as Single-Cell Analysis.

[citation needed] He has made contributions to the understanding of the ion formation mechanism in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) and to the development of analytical tools for the nanoscale, most notably by inventing tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS).

[citation needed] 2015 Fresenius Prize (German Chemical Society / GDCh) 2014 RUSNANO Prize 2014 Thomson Medal (International Mass Spectrometry Foundation)[1] 2012 Fresenius Lectureship (German Chemical Society / GDCh) 2010 Honorary Professorship, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Changchun / CIAC) 2010 Honorary Professorship, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine 2010 Honorary Adjunct Professorship, Hunan University (China) 2010 Mayent/Rothschild Fellowship, Institut Curie (Paris, France) 2009 Honorary Lifetime Membership Israel Chemical Society (Israel) 2009 Schulich Graduate Lectureship Technion, Haifa (Israel) 2007 Honorary Professorship, East China Institute of Technology (Fuzhou, China) 2006 Michael Widmer Award (Novartis Pharma & Swiss Chemical Society) 2006 Hobart H. Willard Lectureship (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) 2006 Michael Widmer Award (Novartis Pharma & Swiss Chemical Society) 2005 Theophilus Redwood Lecturer (Royal Society of Chemistry) 1998 H.E.