{"id":1626,"date":"2023-01-26T04:37:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T04:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rochester.edu\/zhang\/?page_id=1626"},"modified":"2026-09-23T14:13:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:13:28","slug":"professor-zhang","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rochester.edu\/zhang\/professor-zhang\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Zhang"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-vertical is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e4e0ee15 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top: 80px; padding-bottom: 80px;\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"410\" height=\"538\" class=\"wp-image-2966\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.rochester.edu\/zhang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Zhang-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.rochester.edu\/zhang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Zhang-1-2.jpg 410w, https:\/\/sites.rochester.edu\/zhang\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Zhang-1-2-229x300.jpg 229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis: 300px;\">\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size: 29px; line-height: 1;\"><strong>Xi-Cheng Zhang<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics<\/strong>,<br \/>The Institute of Optics<br \/><br \/><strong>Distinguished Scientist<\/strong>,<br \/>The Laboratory for Laser Energetics<br \/><br \/><strong>Professor of Physics<\/strong>,<br \/>Department of Physics and Astronomy<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">University of Rochester<br \/>Institute of Optics<br \/>Goergen 415<br \/>275 Hutchison Rd,<br \/>Rochester, NY 14627-0186<br \/><a href=\"mailto:xi-cheng.zhang@rochester.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">xi-cheng.zhang@rochester.edu<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size: 30px;\"><strong>Biography<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor Xi-Cheng Zhang, the <em>M. Parker Givens Professor of Optic<\/em>s, was the Director of The Institute of Optics (2012\u20132017), a foremost institution in optics and optical physics research and education\u00a0of the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prior to joining the University of Rochester, he pioneered world-leading research in the field of ultrafast laser &#8211; based on terahertz technology and optical physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, New York (1992-2012). At RPI, he was the <em>Eric Jonsson Professor of Science<\/em>, Acting Head at the Department of Physics, Applied Physics &amp; Astronomy, Professor of Electrical, Computer &amp; System, and Founding Director of the Center for THz Research. He is also the\u00a0co-founder\u00a0of Zomega Terahertz Corp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prof. Zhang received 29 US patents; authored and co-authored 24 books and book chapters, 330 refereed papers; delivered 500 colloquia, seminars, invited conference presentations, and 200 contributed conference talks. His\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/H-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">H-index<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com.au\/citations?user=13Sg29oAAAAJ&amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">101<\/a>. (Last updated from Google Scholar 08\/2026).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size: 30px;\"><strong>Education<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ph.D.<\/strong>,<strong>\u00a0Physics<\/strong>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brown.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brown University<\/a>, 1986 (advised by <a href=\"https:\/\/vivo.brown.edu\/display\/anurmikk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arto V Nurmikko<\/a>)<br \/><strong>M.S.<\/strong>,<strong>\u00a0Physics<\/strong>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brown.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brown University<\/a>, 1983<br \/><strong>Physics<\/strong>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/english.pku.edu.cn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Peking University<\/a>, 1981<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size: 30px;\"><strong>Teaching Course<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>OPT 265: Introduction of Lasers<\/strong><\/em> (Last offered in Spring 2026)<br \/><strong><em>OPT 465: Principles of Lasers<\/em><\/strong> (Last offered in Spring 2021, now by <a href=\"https:\/\/csic.nanopod.es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Prof. Postigo<\/a>)<br \/><strong><em>OPT 479: THz Phenomena and Technology<\/em><\/strong> (Last offered in Fall 2025)<br \/><strong><em>OPT 492: Ultrafast Science &amp; Technology<\/em><\/strong> (Last offered in Spring 2019, now offered as OPT 466 by <a href=\"https:\/\/hajim.rochester.edu\/optics\/sites\/guo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Prof. Guo<\/a>)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size: 30px;\"><strong>Professional Appointments<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Editor-in-Chief<\/strong>,\u00a0Light: Science &amp; Application (2020-2023)<br \/><strong>Editor-in-Chief<\/strong>, Optics Letters, OSA (Optica) (2014-2019)<br \/><strong>Director at Large<\/strong>,\u00a0OSA\u00a0(Optica) (2014-2016)<br \/><strong>Director<\/strong>,<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (2012-2017)<br \/><strong>Distinguished Visiting Scientist<\/strong>,\u00a0Jet Propulsion Lab,\u00a0California Institute of <br \/>Technology,\u00a0Pasadena, CA\u00a0(2005)<br \/><strong>NRC-CIAR Distinguished Visiting Scientist<\/strong>, Canada (2004)<br \/><strong>AFOSR- SRPF Fellow<\/strong>, Hanscom Air Force Base,\u00a0Middlesex County, MA (1993-1994)<br \/><strong>Visiting Scientist<\/strong>,\u00a0Columbia University,\u00a0New York City, NNY\u00a0(1987\u20131991)<br \/><strong>Visiting Scientist<\/strong>,\u00a0Massachusetts Institute of Technology,\u00a0Cambridge, MA\u00a0(1985)<br \/><strong>Honorable and Adjunct Professor\u00a0<\/strong>at 14 Russian and Chinese Universities<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size: 30px;\"><strong>Honors and Awards<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irmmw-thz.org\/irmmw-thz-society-exceptional-service-award\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IRMMW-THz Society Exceptional Service Award<\/a> (2023)<br \/>Foreign Member of Russian Academy of Sciences (2022)<br \/>Humboldt Prize (2018)<br \/>Australian Academy of Science Selby Fellow (2017)<br \/>IRMMW-THz Kenneth Button Prize (2014)<br \/>The International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) Fellow (2014)<br \/>American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow (2013)<br \/>OSA William F. Meggers Award (2012)<br \/>IEEE Photonics Society William Streifer Scientific Achievement Award (2011)<br \/>Rensselaer William H. Wiley 1866 Award (2009)<br \/>Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship (2004)<br \/>The World Innovation Foundation (F.W.I.F.) Fellow (2004)<br \/>Heinrich Rudolf Hertz Lecturer, RWTH, Aachen, Germany (2003)<br \/>The American Physical Society (APS) Fellow and lifetime member (2002)<br \/>Optical Society of America (OSA) Fellow Lecturer (2001)<br \/>The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow (2001)<br \/>Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE\/LEOS (1998-2000)<br \/>Rensselaer Early Career Award (1996)<br \/>Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar Award (1995)<br \/>NSF Early Career Award (1995)<br \/>K.C. Wong Prize, K.C. Wong Foundation, Hong Kong SAR, China (1995)<br \/>NSF Research Initiation Award (1992)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size: 30px;\"><strong>Doctoral Dissertation<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>Optical Study Of Exciton Localization Phenomena In Semimagnetic Semiconductors And Their Multiple Quantum Wells<\/em>&#8220;<br \/>Brown University, May 1986 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/docview\/303393352?pq-origsite=gscholar&amp;fromopenview=true\"><strong>ProQuest<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0ProQuest document ID:\u00a0303393352).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size: 30px;\"><strong>Publications<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two most cited:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. Ferguson, B., Zhang, XC. <strong>Materials for terahertz science and technology<\/strong>.\u00a0<em>Nature Mater<\/em><strong>1<\/strong>, 26\u201333 (2002). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/nmat708\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/nmat708<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. Q. Wu<em>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>X.\u2010C. Zhang\u00a0, &#8220;<strong>Free\u2010space electro\u2010optic sampling of terahertz beams<\/strong>&#8220;, Appl. Phys. Lett.\u00a067, 3523-3525\u00a0(1995)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1063\/1.114909\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1063\/1.114909<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\"><\/div>\r\n<div><a class=\"button button--blue\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rochester.edu\/zhang\/publications\/\">More Publications<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xi-Cheng Zhang M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics,The Institute of Optics Distinguished Scientist,The Laboratory for Laser Energetics Professor of Physics,Department of Physics and Astronomy University of RochesterInstitute of OpticsGoergen 415275&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"class_list":["post-1626","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"lead_in":"","display_title":"","subtitle":"","call_to_action":"","hero_image_placement":"no_image","hero_media":"images","hero_pattern_option":"","hero_video":"","hero_image_landing":"","hero_image_landing_two":"","hero_image_landing_three":"","content_modules":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Professor Zhang - Zhang Research Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rochester.edu\/zhang\/professor-zhang\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Professor Zhang - Zhang Research Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Xi-Cheng Zhang M. 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