Zhong You BSc MSc PhD

Professor Zhong You obtained his Bachelor and Master degrees in engineering mechanics from Shanghai Jiaotong University and Dalian University of Technology, respectively. He then joined Cambridge University, where he completed his PhD in the Department of Engineering in 1994, under the supervision of Professor Sergio Pellegrino. He researched deployable structures for aerospace applications.

Zhong continued in Cambridge as a Research Fellow at Corpus Christi College working on deployable structures. In 1997, he became an EPSRC Advanced Fellow, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge. In 1998, he was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Engineering Science of Oxford University and a Tutorial Fellow at Magdalen College. He has stayed in Oxford ever since.

Professor Zhong You’s research is concerned with the design and realisation of novel deployable and origami structures, a type of unconventional structures capable of large shape changes. Zhong is particularly interested in the underlying principles governing large geometrical transformations of these structures. The application areas where his work has had its greatest impact include: retractable roofs, space antennas and solar arrays, energy absorbing structures, and medical devices delivered via minimum invasive surgery.

Zhong’s work was selected for the Science Day Exhibition at the Buckingham Palace in 2007, organised by the Royal Society. SCIENCE  introduced Zhong’s research work in their “profile” section (SCIENCE, 332, 1376-77). Zhong developed a flow diversion stent to treat cerebral aneurysms. Oxford Endovascular, a university spin-off company was founded to commercialise this technology. In 2015, Zhong published his ground-breaking work on thick panel origami in SCIENCE (349, pp. 396-400).

Zhong leads the special structures group. More detail of his research can be found on the group’s website.

Perspective students who want to pursue a rewarding postgraduate research degree, DPhil (PhD) or MSc by Research, in the thriving and exciting area of deployable structures are encouraged to contact Zhong to discuss potential projects and funded research places prior to making an application.