Xin Zhang (engineer)

Xin Zhang
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known for	Metamaterials, Microsystems
Title	Distinguished Professor of Engineering
Awards	Fast Company World Changing Ideas Awards Honoree (2025); ASME Thomas A. Edison Patent Award (2025); Fast Company Innovation By Design Awards Honoree (2024); ASME Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award (2024); Member of European Academy of Sciences and Arts (2023); Sigma Xi Walston Chubb Award for Innovation (2023); IEEE EMBS Technical Achievement Award (2023); ASME Per Bruel Gold Medal (2023); STAT Madness All-Star Award (2023); Guggenheim Fellowship (2022); Fellow of National Academy of Inventors (2019); IET Innovation Award (2019); Charles DeLisi Award and Distinguished Lecture (2018); IEEE Sensors Council Technical Achievement Award (2016)
Scientific career
Fields	Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science
Institutions	Boston University
Website	people.bu.edu/xinz/

Xin Zhang ^[1] is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Boston University (BU).

Education

Dr. Zhang obtained her Ph.D. from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). She subsequently served as a postdoctoral researcher and research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Career

Dr. Zhang joined the faculty of Boston University in 2002 and currently holds the esteemed title of Distinguished Professor of Engineering. Her appointment spans across the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Materials Science & Engineering.

Current research

Dr. Zhang directs the Laboratory for Microsystems Technology (LMST) ^[2] at Boston University, which specializes in metamaterials and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS or microsystems). Her recent research endeavors in metamaterials have captured widespread global attention. Her pioneering work encompasses the creation of metamaterials tailored for highly efficient air-permeable sound silencing and noise reduction, ^[3] alongside innovations that notably enhance MRI signal-to-noise ratio, thereby revolutionizing MRI performance. ^[4] These groundbreaking achievements have resonated across hundreds of media outlets, ^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]} eliciting profound interest from both the scientific community and industry leaders.

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2015) ^{[14] [15]}
• Fellow of the Optica (2016) ^[16]
• Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2016) ^{[17] [18]}
• Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2017) ^[19]
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016) ^[20]
• Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2017) ^{[21] [22]}
• Fellow of the American Physical Society (2019) ^[23]
• Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2019) ^[24]
• Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (2023) ^[25]

Honors, awards and special recognitions

• 2025: Fast Company Fast Company World Changing Ideas Awards Honoree ^[26]
• 2025: ASME Thomas A. Edison Patent Award ^{[27] [28]}
• 2024: Fast Company Innovation By Design Awards Honoree ^[29]
• 2024: ASME Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award ^{[30] [31]}
• 2024: Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year Finalist
• 2023: Member, European Academy of Sciences and Arts ^[32]
• 2023: IET Excellence and Innovation Awards – International Award Finalist
• 2023: Sigma Xi Walston Chubb Award for Innovation ^{[33] [34] [35]}
• 2023: Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year Finalist
• 2023: IEEE EMBS Technical Achievement Award
• 2023: ASME Per Bruel Gold Medal ^[36]
• 2023: STAT Madness All-Star Award ^{[37] [38] [39]}
• 2022: IET Innovation Awards – Chief Engineer of the Year Finalist
• 2022: Guggenheim Fellowship ^{[40] [41]}
• 2022: Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Boston University ^[42]
• 2021: Rajen Kilachand Fund for Integrated Life Science and Engineering Award ^[43]
• 2021: IET Innovation Awards – Digital Health and Social Care Finalist
• 2021: IET Innovation Awards – Tech for Good Finalist
• 2021: Invented Here! Honoree, Boston Patent Law Association ^[44]
• 2020: IET Achievement Medal Finalist
• 2020: Invented Here! Honoree, Boston Patent Law Association
• 2020: IET Innovation Awards – Excellence in R&D Finalist
• 2019: Fellow, National Academy of Inventors ^[45]
• 2019: IET Innovation Awards – Emerging Technology Design Winner ^[46]
• 2018: Boston University Innovator of the Year Award ^[47]
• 2018: Charles DeLisi Award and Distinguished Lecture ^{[48] [49]}
• 2016: IEEE Sensors Council Technical Achievement Award (Advanced Career) ^[50]

Education and outreach

Dr. Zhang serves as the Director for both the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site ^[51] and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Site ^[52] in Integrated Nanomanufacturing at Boston University. Additionally, she holds the role of Associate Director at the Boston University Nanotechnology Innovation Center. ^[53]

References

1. "Xin Zhang". bu.edu.
2. "Laboratory for Microsystems Technology". bu.edu.
3. "Metamaterials & Metasurfaces for Acoustic and/or Wireless Sensing". bu.edu.
4. "Metamaterials & MRI: Intelligent Metamaterials for Enhanced MRI". bu.edu.
5. "Custom-Tuned Materials". americanscientist.org. 16 September 2024.
6. "Making the World a Lot Quieter". bu.edu. 7 March 2019.
7. "Magnetic Metamaterial Can "Turn Up the Volume" of MRI". bu.edu. 6 June 2019.
8. "Speeding Up MRI Scans to Save Lives". bu.edu. 9 November 2019.
9. "No More Noise: Metamaterials Can Make the World a Quieter Place". wsj.com.
10. "This Bizarre Looking Helmet Can Create Better Brain Scans". bu.edu. 6 April 2022.
11. "A Wearable Metamaterial Could Make MRI Crisper, Faster, and Cheaper". bu.edu.
12. "Unleashing the Power of Metamaterials to Improve MRI Imaging". medium.com. 12 June 2024.
13. "Making MRI More Globally Accessible: How Metamaterials Offer Affordable, High-Impact Solutions". bu.edu.
14. "List of all ASME Fellows" (PDF). asme.org.
15. "Engineering Professor Selected as ASME Fellow". bu.edu.
16. "2016 Optica Fellows". osa.org.
17. "AIMBE College of Fellows". aimbe.org.
18. "ENG Profs Elected to AIMBE". bu.edu.
19. "AIAA Associate Fellows" (PDF). aiaa.org.
20. "AAAS 2016 Elected Fellows". aaas.org.
21. "IEEE Fellows Directory". ieee.org.
22. "ENG Faculty Named IEEE Fellows". bu.edu.
23. "Professor Xin Zhang Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society". bu.edu.
24. "National Academy of Inventors Announces 2019 Fellows" (Press release). prnewswire.com.
25. "Database of members". euro-acad.eu.
26. "World Changing Ideas 2025". fastcompany.com.
27. "Thomas A. Edison Patent Award". asme.org.
28. "Thomas A. Edison Patent Award for Xin Zhang". bu.edu.
29. "The Best Material Innovations of 2024". Fast Company. fastcompany.com.
30. "Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award". asme.org.
31. "Zhang Wins the 2024 Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award". bu.edu.
32. "Zhang to Join European Academy of Sciences and Arts". bu.edu.
33. "Announcing Sigma Xi's 2023 Award Winners". sigmaxi.org.
34. "Xin Zhang - The Walston Chubb Award for Innovation". sigmaxi.org.
35. "Xin Zhang Earns Sigma Xi's Chubb Award". bu.edu.
36. "Per Bruel Gold Medal for Noise Control and Acoustics". asme.org.
37. "Xin Zhang Wins STAT Madness 2023 All-Star Award". bu.edu.
38. "An MRI helmet out of 'Back to the Future' wins STAT Summit research pick". statnews.com. 3 May 2023.
39. "STAT Madness Winners". statnews.com.
40. "Announcing the 2022 Guggenheim Fellows". gf.org.
41. "Engineer Xin Zhang Awarded 2022 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship". bu.edu.
42. "Zhang Named Distinguished Professors of Engineering". bu.edu.
43. "Pushing the Limits of Science". bu.edu.
44. "A Zhang Patent Honored Again". bu.edu.
45. "Xin Zhang Elected to National Academy of Inventors". bu.edu.
46. "Zhang Receives Award from the Institution of Engineering and Technology". bu.edu.
47. "ENG's Xin Zhang Is BU's 2018 Innovator of the Year, First Woman Chosen". bu.edu. 22 July 2019.
48. "Xin Zhang to Deliver DeLisi Lecture". bu.edu.
49. "Xin Zhang Presents DeLisi Distinguished Lecture". bu.edu.
50. "2016 IEEE Sensors Council Awards". ieee-sensors.org. 22 October 2022.
51. "NSF REU in Integrated Nanomanufacturing". bu.edu.
52. "NSF RET in Integrated Nanomanufacturing". bu.edu.
53. "Nanotechnology Innovation Center". bu.edu.