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headshot of Jian Zhou

Jian Zhou

Assistant Professor

Mechanical Engineering
ES 1331

Background

Jian Zhou joined the Mechanical Engineering Department as an assistant professor in fall 2023. Prior to this, he conducted postdoctoral research on nanoengineering at Argonne National Laboratory and received his PhD in mechanical engineering from Binghamton University. His thesis work pioneered the bio-inspired flow microphone, which has been commercialized by Soundskrit.

He currently directs an interdisciplinary nanoengineering research group that develops new paradigms of nanodevices, multiscale nanoengineered materials, and precision sensing, control and imaging tools. The research efforts are aimed at addressing crucial societal challenges in health, energy, information and security. His research has garnered recognition and featured in esteemed journals, magazines and news media, including PNAS, Nature Physics, Scientific American, The Washington Post and the BBC.

Research Lab: Nanoengineering Research Group

Selected Publications

  • Zhou, J., Lai, J., Menda, G., Stafstrom, J.A., Miles, C.I., Hoy, R.R. and Miles, R.N., Outsourced hearing in an orb-weaving spider that uses its web as an auditory sensor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (2022).
  • Zhou, J., Jiang, J., Walko, D.A., Jin, D., López, D., Czaplewski, D.A. and Wang, J., On-chip picosecond synchrotron pulse shaper. arXiv: 2211.03567 (2022).
  • Zhou, J., Moldovan, N., Stan, L., Cai, H., Czaplewski, D.A. and López, D., Approaching the strain-free limit in ultrathin nanomechanical resonators. Nano Letters, 20 (2020).
  • Zhou, J. and Miles, R.N., Sensing fluctuating airflow with spider silk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (2017).

Selected Research Highlights


Research Interests

  • Nanoengineering and NEMS
  • Nano mechanics and manufacturing
  • Acoustics and vibration
  • Bio-inspired engineering

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