Rate My Professor Ying Zhang

Ying Zhang, Ph.D., is Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Center for Manufacturing Research at Tennessee Technological University, where she has served as faculty since 2000. Her academic background includes a B.S. in Physical Metallurgy from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University. In her role within the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering and the College of Engineering, Zhang leads interdisciplinary research initiatives focused on advanced manufacturing processes and materials for energy applications.

Zhang's research specializations encompass protective coatings, high-temperature materials, thermal barrier coatings (TBC), and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). She has published extensively on oxidation behavior and coating performance, with highly cited works such as "Substrate and bond coat compositions: factors affecting alumina scale adhesion" (Materials Science and Engineering: A, 1998; 530 citations), "Influence of sulfur, platinum, and hafnium on the oxidation behavior of CVD NiAl bond coatings" (Oxidation of Metals, 2002; 236 citations), "Martensitic transformation in CVD NiAl and (Ni, Pt)Al bond coatings" (Surface and Coatings Technology, 2003; 190 citations), "Synthesis and cyclic oxidation behavior of a (Ni, Pt)Al coating on a desulfurized Ni-base superalloy" (Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 1999; 189 citations), and "Effects of Pt incorporation on the isothermal oxidation behavior of chemical vapor deposition aluminide coatings" (Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 2001; 173 citations). Recent publications include "Optimization of Electrospinning Parameters for Lower Molecular Weight Polymers" (2024). Her research has attracted major U.S. Department of Energy funding, including a $1 million grant in 2023 as co-investigator on "Spray Deposition of Coal-Derived Graphene-Copper Nanocomposites for Advanced Conductors" to develop efficient, low-cost conductors from coal waste for clean energy technologies like electric vehicles and power cables, a prior collaboration on high-temperature coatings for steam turbine blades in coal-fired plants, and principal investigator on a $466,515 project (2011-2014) developing low-cost electrolytic codeposition of MCrAlY bond coats for syngas/hydrogen turbine applications. Zhang has earned the College of Engineering Kinslow Award (2015), Tennessee Tech Caplenor Faculty Research Award, and Most Distinguished Mechanical Engineering Researcher award. She has delivered invited presentations, such as "Electrodeposited MCrAlY Coatings for Gas Turbine Engine Applications" at TMS-Energy Materials 2017.