Professor Yuntian Zhu, a distinguished professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, was appointed as HKIAS Visiting Fellow in August 2019.

Professor Yuntian Zhu received his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. Currently Professor Zhu is an Adjunct Professor and Director at Nano Heterogeneous Materials Center, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China.

His research in recent years has focused on the deformation mechanisms at dislocation level and mechanical behaviors of heterostructured materials, nano/ultrafine-grained materials, and synthesis and processing of carbon nanotube and CNT composites. He is an experimentalist with primary interest in fundamental aspects of materials research and also in designing materials with superior strength and ductility.

Professor Zhu recently received the TMS SMD Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award, NCSU Alumni Distinguished Research Award, and ASM International Albert Sauveur Award, TMS Leadership Award, and IUMRS Sômiya Award. He has been elected Fellows of TMS, ASM International, APS and AAAS. He is among Highly Cited Researchers 2016 by Thomson Reuters.