XIN ZHANG, PHD
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
WALSTON CHUBB AWARD FOR INNOVATION
Biography
Xin Zhang is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Boston University. Her research is generally focused on the development of metamaterials and microelectromechanical systems (or microsystems), from their fundamental physics and mathematical underpinnings, their design and development, through to their use in real world applications.
Three distinct research themes and applications areas are represented by Zhang’s recent work, namely metamaterials and microsystems: 1) with tunable and nonlinear responses for photonic and optical applications, 2) for clinical medical imaging technologies, and 3) for acoustic silencing and noise reduction.
Zhang's recent research on metamaterials, both those that enable highly efficient, air-permeable sound silencing and noise reduction and those that markedly boost MRI signal-to-noise ratio and thus significantly improve the performance of MRI, have drawn significant worldwide interest from the scientific community and industry, with the stories having been picked up by numerous media outlets.
In addition to the Walston Chubb Award, Zhang’s other recent honors and awards include the Guggenheim Fellow, ASME Per Bruel Gold Medal, STAT Madness All-Star Award, and IEEE EMBS Technical Achievement Award. She is a Sigma Xi member and an Elected Fellow of National Academy of Inventors, AAAS, AIMBE, APS, ASME, IEEE, and Optica, and Associate Fellow of AIAA.
Zhang is Director of both the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU Site) and Teachers (RET Site) in Integrated Nanomanufacturing at Boston University. She also serves as Associate Director of the Boston University Nanotechnology Innovation Center (BUnano).