Dr. Quan Zhang
My educational and research background has prepared me to take on the challenging research topics related to Metamaterials and Wave Manipulations. My expertise in the design, fabrication, and experimental realization of elastic metamaterials is exemplified by my publications in leading high-impact journals (including Adv. Mater., Adv. Funct. Mater., Adv. Sci.).
Moreover, I have gained the experience of leading independent research projects as the PI through prestigious and highly competitive programs (NSFC with a success rate of 18% and National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents with rate of 10%). This unique research program experience strengthened my expertise in theoretical, numerical, and experimental aspects of metamaterial behavior.
Education
2013.09 – 2019.06
Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics
Beijing Institute of Technology
Doctoral Dissertation: Design and Wave Manipulation of Tunable Elastic Metamaterials,
Supervisor: Prof. Gengkai Hu and Prof. Kai Zhang.
2009.09 – 2013.07
B.Sc. in Engineering Mechanics
Beijing Institute of Technology
Bachelor Thesis: Investigation of Thermal Responses of 3D Printed Polymer Materials,
Supervisor: Prof. Kai Zhang.
Professional Employment
2023.06 – Present
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Galway
Marie Skłodowska–Curie Postdoctoral Fellow
Research topic: Soft Magnetoactive Metamaterials for Remote Tunability of Elastic Waves,
Supervisor: Prof. Stephan Rudykh.
2021.10 – 2023.05
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Galway
Research topic: Modelling and Experiments of Soft Magnetoactive Metamaterials,
Supervisor: Prof. Stephan Rudykh.
2019.09 – 2021.09
Postdoctoral Researcher
Beijing Institute of Technology
Postdoctoral Fellow of China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents,
Research topic: Low-Frequency Elastic Wave Control and Vibration Isolation with
Metamaterials,
Supervisor: Prof. Li Liu and Prof. Gengkai Hu.
Funding Received
2023.06 – 2025.05
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship,
Funded by: European Union (EU).
Grant No. 101106301
Amount: €199,694.40
Role: Principal Investigator
2021.01 – 2023.12
National Natural Science Foundation of China - Youth Program,
Funded by: Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
Grant No. 12002030
Amount: €43,600
Role: Principal Investigator
2019.09 – 2021.09
China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents,
Funded by: China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.
Grant No. BX20200052
Amount: €91,600
Role: Principal Investigator
Prizes and Awards
2023
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship
2020
China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents
2019
Outstanding Graduate Student of Beijing
2016
Excellent Paper Award of the First Beijing Mechanics Ph.D. Academic Forum
2016
National Scholarships for Graduate Students
Organisation of Conferences
15-17 Nov., 2019
Beijing, China
Member of the Local Organizing Committee,
Role: Structure the conference procedures and create the conference manual,
The 7th Youth Forum on Equipment Vibration and Noise Control
06-08 Jun., 2018
Beijing, China
Member of the Local Organizing Committee,
Role: Structure the conference procedures and create the conference manual,
The IUTAM Symposium on Acoustic/Elastic Metamaterials and Their Potential Engineering Applications
Supervising and Mentoring Activities
01/09/2015 – 01/03/2018
I co-supervised (with Prof. Kai Zhang) a M.Sc. student (Ziwei Wang, now a Ph.D. student at Northwestern University) on his first scientific paper, titled “Tunable digital metamaterial for broadband vibration isolation at low frequency” and published in Advanced Materials.
01/09/2016 – 01/07/2019
I co-supervised (with Prof. Kai Zhang and Prof. Huilin Duan) a M.Sc. student (Huan Liu, now a Ph.D. student at University of Minnesota Twin Cities) on her first scientific paper, titled “Designing 3D digital metamaterial for elastic waves: from elastic wave polarizer to vibration control” and published in Advanced Science.
01/09/2017 – 01/07/2020
I co-supervised (with Prof. Lihua Shao and Prof. Kai Zhang) a M.Sc. student (Boxuan Zhao) on his first scientific paper, titled “4D printing composite with electrically controlled local deformation” and published in Extreme Mechanics Letters.
01/09/2018 – 01/07/2021
I co-supervised (with Prof. Kai Zhang) a M.Sc. student (Jingyi Zhang) on his first scientific paper, titled “Machine-learning based design of digital materials for elastic wave control” and published in Extreme Mechanics Letters.
02/03/2021 – 22/04/2021
Teaching assistant for Course: Engineering Materials
Content: Grading students’ homework.
02/04/2021
Teaching assistant for Course: Wave Mechanics
Content: One-hour introduction to topological elastic metamaterials.