Prof. TieJun (TJ) Zhang is the Associate Dean of College of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is also a Member of the Mohammed bin Rashed Academy of Scientists (UAE's National Academy) and the Theme Leader of Abu Dhabi Virtual Research Institute for Sustainability (Energy). He was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in USA. As one of World’s Top 2% Scientists, he has over 160 peer-reviewed publications. As an innovator, he has multiple international patents and a spin-off company. As an educator, he has mentored over 50 PhD & MSc students and research staffs as well as many intern students.
Prof. Zhang is the recipient of the UAE National Research Foundation University-Industry Research Collaboration Award, the Abu Dhabi Award for Research Excellence, and the US National Academy of Sciences Arab-American Frontiers Fellowship Award. He has been the Principal Investigator of many research projects (~US$15 millions) on energy, water and micro/nanotechnologies. Prof. Zhang is an Associate Editor of Journal of Micro and Nano-Manufacturing of American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was the co-chair (Arab-side) of the Fourth Arab-American Frontiers of Science, Engineering and Medicine Symposium between USA and 22 Arab countries (organized by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine). He has been an invited reviewer for many international research proposals, doctoral dissertations and over 60 scientific journals.
“High-Performance Compact Solar Thermal Power and Cooling Systems” (Masdar Institute-MIT Flagship Research Project, Principal Investigator, with Profs. Evelyn Wang, Gang Chen, Nicholas Fang at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Profs. Amal Al Ghaferi, Weidong Xiao, Peter Armstrong at Masdar Institute, 7/2013-6/2016)
“Energy Efficiency via Nanostructured Condensers for Natural Gas Processing” (Sponsor: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company R&D Department – Energy Efficiency and Environment Program, Principal Investigator, with Profs. Evelyn Wang at MIT and Kean Wang at Petroleum Institute, 10/2015-12/2018)
“Impact of Pore-scale Wettability Changes on Relative Permeability Characterization in Carbonate Reservoirs” (Sponsor: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company R&D Department – Reservoir Characterization and Modeling Program, Principal Investigator, with Co-I: Profs. Mohamed Sassi and Mustapha Jouiad at Masdar Institute, Kean Wang at Petroleum Institute, 12/2015-12/2019)
“Environmentally Friendly Refrigeration Cooling” (Khalifa University Competitive Internal Research Award, Principal Investigator, with Co-I: Profs. Lourdes Vega, Maryam Khaleel, Nahla AlAmoodi, 7/2018-6/2021)
“Alibaba Cloud-Khalifa University Joint Innovation Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence for Clean Energy” (Sponsor: Alibaba Cloud, Principal Scientist, 9/2018-12/2020). Main research themes: AI-enabled subsurface energy extraction and gas processing, machine learning-assisted energy materials development and smart manufacturing, and AI/cloud computing-empowered smart renewable energy production
“Bioinspired Passive Solar Desalination empowered by Micro-3D Printing” (Sponsor: ASPIRE – Advanced Technology Research Council, Principal Investigator, with Co-I: Profs. Faisal AlMarzooqi, Alejandro Galvan, 1/2020-6/2023)
“Smart Light-Heat-Water Management of Halophyte Greenhouse for Improved Food Security” (Khalifa University Competitive Internal Research Award, Principal Investigator, with Co-I: Prof. Maryam Rashed AlShehhi at Khalifa University, 7/2022-11/2025)
