Min Zou

Nanomechanics and Tribology Laboratory

Director: Min Zou, Ph.D.
Professor
The Twenty-first Century Professorship in Mechanical Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
1 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201
Office: MEEG 102A
Phone: (479) 575-6671
Fax: (479) 575-6982
E-mail: mzou@uark.edu

EDUCATION

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • 08/03 – Present, Assistant/Associate/Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Arkansas
  • 01/99 – 08/03, Senior Advisory Development Engineer / Staff Engineer, Seagate Technology, LLC.
  • 09/94 – 12/98, Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 01/91 – 7/94, Engineer / Manager, Shanghai Aircraft Research Institute, Shanghai, China
  • 09/88 – 01/91, Graduate Research Assistant, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China

EXECTIVE SUMMARY

Dr. Zou is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arkansas (UA) and holds a 21st Century Professorship in Mechanical Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and has 26 years engineering experiences in academia, traditional and high tech industries.

Dr. Zou’s research has lead to 81 peer-reviewed publications, 82 conference presentations, 3 book chapters, 2 patents and 3 pending patents. Her research has been recognized by many awards, including the Al Sonntag Award (2013) and the Walter D. Hodson Award (2001) from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), the best poster award (2013) from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Best Paper Awards (2007 and 2008) from the the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the CAREER Award (2007) from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award (2005) from the Oakridge Associated Universities (ORAU), and the Science and Technology Advancement Award from the Ministry of Aeronautics and Aerospace of P. R. China (1993).

Dr. Zou served as an editorial board member for four journals and as a reviewer for 50 journals and many US and international funding agencies. She served in the STLE and the ASME at various capacities, organized numerous technical sessions and a Nanotribology Workshop at the STLE Annual Meetings. She was the STLE Surface Engineering Technical Committee Chair, the Nanotribology Technical Committee Chair, the STLE Award Committee Chair, and currently serves as the STLE Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) member and the ASME Tribology Division Executive Committee Chair.

Dr. Zou directs the Nano Mechanics and Tribology Laboratory (NMTL) at the UA. Her current research interests are in the areas of nano-surface-engineering, nanotribology, and nanomechanics. Her lab has developed a variety of nano-engineered surfaces (NESs) – surfaces engineered with nanoscale topographies and/or chemistries, to reduce friction and wear in tribological applications, to change surface wetting properties for anti-fogging and self-cleaning in a variety of applications, including application on solar panels, and to facilitate cell adhesion or provide antimicrobial property in biomedical applications.

Prior to joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the UA in Fall 2003, Dr. Zou was a Staff engineer at Seagate Technology, where she contributed significantly to the cutting edge computer hard drive head-disk interface tribology technology development. Dr. Zou’s doctoral research in the area of real-time monitoring and control of contact between the mechanical seal faces has won the STLE Walter D. Hodson Award.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

  • Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Tribology, 2014-Present.
  • Member of the Editorial Board, JSM Nanotechnology & Nanomedicine, 2013-Present.
  • Member of the Editorial Advisory Board, International Journal of Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures (MMMS), 2004-Present.
  • Member of the Editorial Advisory Board, Open Mechanical Engineering Journal (OME), 2007-2010.
  • Member, Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC), STLE, 2013-2020.
  • Chair, Executive Committee, ASME Tribology Division, 2014-2015.
  • Member, Executive Committee (Vice Chair/Treasurer), ASME Tribology Division, 2013-2014.
  • Member, ASME Tribology Scholarships Evaluation Committee, ASME Tribology Division, 2013.
  • Member, Executive Committee (Chair, Education Committee), ASME Tribology Division, 2011-2013.
  • Member, Executive Committee (Chair, Technical Expositions Committee), ASME Tribology Division, 2010-2011.
  • Secretary, Nanotribology and Micro/Nano-Systems (NMNS) committee, ASME Tribology Division, 2010- 2012.
  • Chair/Member, Award Committee, STLE, 2013/2008-2012.
  • Chair, Interdisciplinary Studies Subcommittee, Nanotribology and Micro/Nano-Systems (NMNS) committee, ASME Tribology Division, 2007-2008.
  • Chair/Vice Chair/Secretary and PSC, Nanotribology Technical Committee, STLE, 2010- 2011/2008-2009/2007.
  • Member, K.L. Johnson Award committee, Contact Mechanics Technical Committee, ASME Tribology Division, 2007-Present.
  • Chair/Vice Chair/Paper Solicitation Chair (PSC), Surface Engineering Technical Committee, STLE, 2007/2006/2005.
  • Vice Chair/Vice PSC, Ceramics and Composites Technical Committee, STLE, 2006/2005.
  • Member, TLT Content Creation & Review Committee, STLE, 2009.
  • Member, Content Committee, STLE, 2005-2006.
  • Member, STLE, ASME, IEEE, ASEE

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2015.
  • Fellow, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), 2014.
  • UA College of Engineering Outstanding Researcher in Mechanical Engineering Award, 2014.
  • Al Sonntag Award (best paper, with graduate student S. Beckford), STLE, 2013.
  • Outstanding Mentor, University of Arkansas, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014.
  • Invited Instructor for NSF Summer Institute on Nanomechanics, Nanomaterials, and Micro/Nanomanufacturing, San Diego, CA, April 24-25, 2010.
  • Appointed the Twenty-first Century Endowed Professorship in Mechanical Engineering, 2009-2012, 2012-2015.
  • First Place Best Poster Award (with graduate student H. Wang), STLE/American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) International Joint Tribology Conference, 2008.
  • National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, 2007.
  • UA College of Engineering Outstanding Researcher in Mechanical Engineering Award, 2007.
  • NSF Summer Institute on Nanomechanics and Materials Fellowship, 2005, 2006, 2007.
  • Best Paper Award (with graduate students Y. Song and R. P. Nair), ASME International Conference on Integration and Commercialization of Micro and Nano-systems, 2007.
  • Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards, the Oakridge Associated Universities (ORAU), 2005.
  • Walter D. Hodson Award (best paper), STLE, 2001.
  • Science and Technology Advancement Award, the Ministry of Aeronautics and Aerospace of P. R. China, 1993.
  • Excellent Student Awards, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China, 1985-1988.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Nano-surface-engineering
  • Micro / Nanotribology
  • Nanomechanics

 

Nanomechanics and Tribology Laboratory

Highlights of the Nanomechanics and Tribology Laboratory (NMTL) can be found in: BL NMTL Brochure