Dr. Lei Zuo

Lei Zuo is the Herbert C. Sadler Collegiate Professor of Engineering in the Department of of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He recently established the NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) GO Blue, for Growing Ocean Energy Technologies and the Blue Economy. Lei Zuo completed his BS (07/1997) from Tsinghua University and his MS (02/2002) and Ph.D. (02/2005) from MIT.  He had four years of industry working experience before returning to academia. He was previously a professor of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and ocean engineering at Virginia Tech and the director of NSF IUCRC Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems.

Lei Zuo’s research interest includes marine renewable energy (ocean waves, tidal currents, offshore wind), energy harvesting, vibration and control, mechatronics design, and advanced manufacturing. Lei Zuo is one of few researchers who have conducted transdisciplinary marine energy research from conceptualization to ocean testing, including hydrodynamics, structure optimization, power takeoff design, power electronics, feedback control, tank tests, ocean validation, and community engagement. His work has been funded with over 110 projects of $38M (PI $29M) by various funding agencies and industries.  He has authored over 400 papers including 17 with the best paper awards. He has supervised 84 Ph.D. and master students to completion of their degrees, mentored 18 postdocs, and advised about 300 undergraduates in senior designs or research. The ASME recognized him as “a pioneering researcher in energy engineering, especially at large energy scale” with its Thar Energy Design Award. He is the sole recipient of 2017 ASME Leonardo Da Vinci Award and also won two R&D 100 Awards.