Professor Zhou, an expert in material science, was born in Beijing, May 1927. In 1950 he graduated from Machinery Engineering Department of Qinghua University and in 1957, after three years of study in Moscow College of Steel and Alloy, he received his doctoral degree in technology and returned China. And now he is a professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering in Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He was a member of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council and Discipline Appraisal Group, head of China International Foundry, president of International Foundry. In 1991, he was elected a member of Chinese Academy of Sciences (member of the Academic Divisions). Professor Zhou has long been devoted to the research on the theory and techniques of foundry solidification. He has made a systematic study of thermal transmission, mass transmission, momentum output in the process of foundry solidification, established a new theory in regard to the formation of forced solidification of structure. He is the first in the world to discover and define the third conventional area on the process of solidifying ingot. On the basis of the discovery, he set up the theory of normal segregation in ingot header, which has gained international recognition. Professor Zhou has made important achievements in the field of coagulation dynamics, deep subcooling of liquid mentaland three-dimensional non-crystalline alloys. He has founded the state key laboratory of Solidification Technology. Recent years he has exploited a new branch of research---eco-materials. He has published more than 200 papers, and has been awarded the national Prize for Invention and Prize of Achievement in Science and Technology of China for once respectively, 14 awards conferred by Ministries in China. In 1991, he became the obtainer of the highest honor in the field of aerial navigation--- the Golden Award for Aviation, and the highest award of CMES---the Award for Scientific Achievement. He has supervised almost 40 PhD students, among whom 6 have obtained Humboldt Research Award , 4 Science Foundation of Excellent Youth in China, 1 Prize for Young Scientist in China.

1. Theory of solidification processsing and structure control 2. Technique of solidification 3. Ecological materials science