Zhang Xiang (; born December 1963) is a Chinese-American mechanical engineer, currently serving as the 16th president and vice-chancellor of the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

since July 2018. Zhang was the inaugural Ernest S. Kuh Endowed Chaired Professor at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the director of the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

Nano-scale Science and Engineering Center, the director of materials science division, and a senior faculty scientist at the

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, Berkeley Lab) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in the Berkeley Hills, hills of Berkeley, California, United States. Established i ...

Education

Zhang received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

from

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The univers ...

, as well as a

from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. He received a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996.

Career

From 1996 to 1999, he was assistant professor at the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

and from 1999 to 2004, associate professor and then full professor at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, before joining the University of California, Berkeley. Zhang is an elected member of the United States

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

and of

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

, a foreign member of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

, and a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

, the

Optical Society of America Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

(OSA),

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

and The International Society for Optical Engineering. Zhang published more than 390 journal papers. His research focuses on materials physics,

metamaterials A metamaterial (from the Greek word μετά ''meta'', meaning "beyond" or "after", and the Latin word ''materia'', meaning "matter" or "material") is a type of material engineered to have a property, typically rarely observed in naturally occur ...

and nano-photonics. On 15 December 2017,

The University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public university, public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as t ...

appointed Zhang to the posts of president and vice-chancellor. It was the first time a candidate born and educated to undergraduate degree level in mainland China had been so appointed. He assumed office in July 2018.

Events

On 3 July 2019, in a statement in response to the

Storming of the Legislative Council Complex On 1 July 2019, anti-government protesters in Hong Kong sieged, broke into, and subsequently occupied the Legislative Council Complex during the campaign to halt the enactment of the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill, Fugitive Offenders amendment ...

two days earlier, Zhang said that he had been "disheartened by the violence" and that he "would like to condemn such acts". In response to a backlash from some 2,000 HKU students, alumni and staff, he stated on 11 July that he opposed violence "by any party, and at any juncture". Zhang agreed to a request by the HKU Student Union to participate in a forum open to students, staff, alumni and the media. In April 2021, the

Hong Kong University Students' Union The Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU; ) was a student union founded in 1912 and registered under the Societies Ordinance in Hong Kong. It was the officially recognised undergraduate student representative body of The University of ...

criticized Zhang, and said that he was promoting national security education as a "political task" and was "destroying the autonomy of institutions." In October 2023, Zhang was accused by whistleblowers of potential misconduct, including the purchase of a HK$2 million (US$255,370) BMW vehicle without going through an open tender.

Academic awards

* 1997 NSF CAREER Award * 1998 SME Dell K. Allen Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award * 1999 ONR Young Investigator Award * 2004 to 2009 Chancellor's Professorship, UC Berkeley * 2008

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

: "Top Ten Scientific Discoveries of the Year" and 50 Best Inventions of the Year" * 2009 Rohsenow Lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology *2011 Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship, Materials Research Society *2011 Miller Professorship, UC Berkeley *2011 Distinguished Visiting Scientist, University of Toronto *2012 William Reynolds Lecturer, Stanford University *2014 Fitzroy Medal *2015 Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award * 2016

Max Born Award The Max Born Award is given by Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America) for ''outstanding contributions to physical optics'' and is named after Max Born, a physicist renowned for his foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and opt ...

* 2016 Julius Springer Award for Applied Physics *2016 Excellence Award in Scientific Leadership * 2017 A. C. Eringen Medal *2017 George W. Pearsall Distinguished Lecturer, Duke University *2017 John R. and Donna S. Hall Engineering Lecturer, Vanderbilt University *2017 John and Virginia Towers Distinguished Lecturer, Michigan Technology University *2019 Physics World: Top 10 Breakthroughs for 2019 *2021 SPIE Mozi Award

Honours

*1 July 2019: Justice of the Peace

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Xiang 1963 births Living people 21st-century American engineers 21st-century American physicists American materials scientists Chinese emigrants to the United States Chinese materials scientists Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Nanjing University alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Members of Academia Sinica Optical engineers Pennsylvania State University faculty Scientists from Nanjing UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty University of Minnesota alumni Vice-chancellors of the University of Hong Kong Metamaterials scientists