Professor Zi-Qiang (Z.Q.) Zhu is a Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of IEEE, and a Fellow of IET. He received B.Eng. and M.Sc. degrees from Zhejiang University, China, in 1982 and 1984 respectively, and a Ph.D. degree from The University of Sheffield, U.K., in 1991, all in electrical engineering.

At the University of Sheffield where he joined in 1988, he became a professor in 2000 and is currently Royal Academy of Engineering/Siemens Research Chair, Head of the Electrical Machines and Drives Research Group which consists of 10 research centres and >130 personnel, including 17 academic staff (9 full professors), >100 PhD students and post-doctoral Research Associates, and is one of the global largest research groups specializing on permanent magnet machines, power electronics, controls, and energy storage. He is also Director of several industrial funded research centres, including Sheffield Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Research Centre. His current major research interests include design and control of permanent magnet machines and drives for applications ranging from electric vehicles through domestic appliance to renewable energy. He is the recipient of the 2021 IEEE Nicola Tesla Award and the 2019 IEEE Industry Application Society Outstanding Achievement Award, as well as 36 Best Paper Awards, including 7 IEEE/IET society/journal awards.

He is/was a panel member of Royal Academy of Engineering, Panel 7 - Electrical & Electronic (2018-2021), IEEE Medal in Power Engineering Committee member (2018-2021), IEEE IAS Outstanding Achievement Award Committee member (2019-2023), EPSRC Engineering Panel member (2013, 2019, 2022), and NSFC Overseas Panel member (2001-2006), Editor/Associate Editor of IEEE Trans. on Energy Conversion (2014-2017); IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications (2007-2010); Journal of IEE Japan-IAS (2015-), CES Transactions on Electrical Machines and Systems (2017-), and is currently Editor-in Chief of IET Electric Power Applications (EPA).