Dr. Xin Zhou is currently an Associate Professor with the School of Microelectronics, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). His research focuses on micro/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) sensors and actuators, including MEMS/NEMS resonators, MEMS/NEMS gyroscopes, MEMS/NEMS physical sensors, and fundamental physics in MEMS/NEMS. He discovered a new singularity in phase-tracked closed-loop oscillations, termed the PhT singularity, and invented the PhT-singularity-enhanced MEMS gyroscope, which achieved strategic-grade angular random walk performance. He also proposed the “stiffness–mass decoupled” design strategy for disk/ring-type MEMS gyroscopes, improving the decay-time constant by more than an order of magnitude. Dr. Zhou serves as a Reviewing Editor for Springer Nature and as a member of the Review Committee for the IEEE Sensors Conference. He has also served as a reviewer for multiple journals and conferences.

Several openings are available for postdoctoral fellows, research assistants, and PhD students. If you are interested in joining Dr. Zhou’s group, please contact him via email zhoux@sustech.edu.cn.

Education

Ph.D., College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, China

Visiting Ph.D. Student, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK

M.S., College of Mechatronics Engineering and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, China

B.S., Tsien Hsue-Shen College, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China

Professional Experience

Associate Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China: 2026.04 – Present

Associate Professor, National University of Defense Technology, China

Assistant Professor, National University of Defense Technology, China

Awards

First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress at the Provincial or Ministerial Level

Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Hunan Province

Research Interests

1. MEMS/NEMS Physical Sensors and Actuators.

Design, analysis, fabrication, and application of high-performance MEMS/NEMS resonators, MEMS/NEMS gyroscopes, and other MEMS/NEMS physical devices.

2. Fundamental Physics in MEMS/NEMS

Fundamental study in physics of MEMS/NEMS, including nonlinear dynamics, non-Hermitian physics, exceptional-point physics, and related phenomena, aiming to explore new physical effects and mechanisms.

3. MEMS/NEMS Devices and Systems Based on Novel Principles

Exploration of new devices and systems enabled by novel physical mechanisms, innovative structural designs, and emerging system architectures.

4. Micro- and Nanofabrication Technologies

Micro-/nanofabrication and integration technologies for MEMS/NEMS devices and systems.

Selected Publications

“*” corresponding author; “&” supervised student; “#” equal contribution.

(1) S. Zhang&, D. Xiao, F. Wang*, R. Huang, L. Yu, N. Zhou, K. He, X. Wu, F. Nori*, H. Jing*, Xin Zhou*. Cusp-singularity-enhanced Coriolis effect for sensitive chip-scale gyroscopes. Nature (in press, accepted on 2026.04.18).

(2) Xin Zhou*,#, X. Ren&,#, D. Xiao, J. Zhang, R. Huang, Z. Li, X. Sun, X. Wu*, C.-W. Qiu, F. Nori*, H. Jing*. Higher-order singularities in phase-tracked electromechanical oscillators. Nature Communications 14, 7944 (2023).

(3) Xin Zhou, C. Zhao, D. Xiao*, J. Sun, G. Sobreviela, D. D Gerrard, Y. Chen, I. Flader, T. W. Kenny, X. Wu, A. A. Seshia*. Dynamic modulation of modal coupling in microelectromechanical gyroscopic ring resonators. Nature Communications 10, 4980 (2019).

(4) T. Miao&, Xin Zhou, X. Wu, Q. Li, Z. Hou, X. Hu, Z. Wang*, D. Xiao*. Nonlinearity-mediated digitization and amplification in electromechanical phonon-cavity systems. Nature Communications 13, 2352 (2022).

(5) S. Zhang&, Y. Huang&, L. Yu, K. He, N. Zhou, D. Xiao, X. Wu, F. Nori, H. Jing*, Xin Zhou*. Dynamically encircling an exceptional point through phase-tracked closed-loop control. Communications Physics 8, 344 (2025).

(6) X. Sun&, Xin Zhou*, X. Ren&, L. Li&, T. Miao&, K. Lu, X. Wu, D. Xiao. Electrostatic nonlinear dispersive parametric mode interaction. Nonlinear Dynamics 111, 3081–3097 (2023).

(7) X. Ren&, Xin Zhou*, Y. Tao, Q. Li, X. Wu, D. Xiao. Radially Pleated Disk Resonator for Gyroscopic Application. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 30 (6), 825-835 (2021).

(8) Xin Zhou, D. Xiao*, Q. Li, Z. Hou, K. He, Z. Chen, Y. Wu, X. Wu. Decaying time constant enhanced MEMS disk resonator for high precision gyroscopic application. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics 23 (1), 452-458, (2018).

(9) Xin Zhou, D. Xiao*, X. Wu, Q. Li, Z. Hou, K. He, Y. Wu. Mitigating thermoelastic dissipation of flexural micromechanical resonators by decoupling resonant frequency from thermal relaxation rate. Physical Review Applied 8, 064033 (2017).

(10) Xin Zhou, D. Xiao*, Z. Hou, Q. Li, Y. Wu, X. Wu. Influences of the structure parameters on sensitivity and Brownian noise of the disk resonator gyroscope. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 26 (3), 519-527 (2017).

(11) Xin Zhou*, D. Xiao*, X. Wu, Y. Wu, Z. Hou, K. He, Q. Li. Stiffness-mass decoupled silicon disk resonator for high resolution gyroscopic application with long decay time constant (8.695 s). Applied Physics Letters 109, 263501 (2016).

(12) Xin Zhou, Y. Wu, D. Xiao*, D. Xiao, Q. Li, D. Yu, X. Wu. An investigation on the ring thickness distribution of disk resonator gyroscope with high mechanical sensitivity. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 117, 174-181 (2016).

(13) S. Zhang&, Xin Zhou*. Non-Hermitian dynamics in a frequency-matched, dissipation-imbalanced MEMS gyroscope. Accepted by the 39th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (IEEE MEMS), (2026).

(14) S. Zhang&, L. Yu, K. He, N. Zhou, Xin Zhou*. Non-Hermitian MEMS disk resonator based on thermal-elastic-damping regulation and dynamical interaction. In Proceedings of 38th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (IEEE MEMS), 581-584 (2025).

(15) X. Sun&, Xin Zhou*, L. Yu, K. He, X. Wu, D. Xiao. A novel multiple-folded beam disk resonator for maximizing the thermoelastic quality factor. In Proceedings of 36th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (IEEE MEMS), 845-848 (2023).