Distinguished Professor of Engineering Xin Zhang (ME, ECE, BME, MSE) at Boston University, has been selected to receive the 2024 Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award from the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Named for the ASME’s first president, the award was established in 1925 with the stated aim to “provide an opportunity for a leader in pure and/or applied science or engineering to present to the Society a lecture that encourages stimulating thinking on a subject of broad interest to engineers.”
Formal presentation of the award will take place during the 2024 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE) in Portland, Oregon this November.
I would like to express my profound gratitude to ASME for the Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award,” said Zhang. “The list of previous winners of this award is simply outstanding, and it is an honor to be included among them. I feel fortunate to work with many outstanding students and collaborators, and I convey my heartiest appreciation to all.”
Zhang’s recent research has generally focused on the development of metamaterials—materials with properties not found in nature—from their fundamental physics and mathematical underpinnings, their design and development, through to their use in real-world applications. Her recent research on metamaterials for both clinical medical imaging technologies, and acoustic silencing and noise reduction have drawn significant worldwide interest from the scientific community and industry.
In addition to the Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award, Zhang’s other recent honors and awards include the Guggenheim Fellowship, Walston Chubb Award for Innovation by Sigma Xi, Per Bruel Gold Medal for Noise Control and Acoustics by ASME, IEEE EMBS Technical Achievement Award, and the STAT Madness All-Star Award. Zhang is a Fellow of ASME, AAAS, AIMBE, APS, IEEE, Optica, and the National Academy of Inventors.