Dr. M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean of engineering, has appointed Dr. Xinghang Zhang holder of the Gulf Oil/Thomas A. Dietz Career Development Professor I in Mechanical Engineering. The endowed development professorship was effective June 1.
Zhang, who is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2005. He holds a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from North Carolina State University. He earned a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from Institute of Metal Research, Shenyang, China, and a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Zhang has received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award and was also named a TEES Fellow in 2013.
Zhang’s research interests include radiation damage in metallic nanolayers and bulk nanostructured metals; layer- and twin-interface tailored strengthening and deformation mechanisms in thin films; magnetic shape memory alloy thin films for sensors or actuator applications; and hydrogen storage in nanostructured metals.