Recently, the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) announced the list of new fellows for 2025, and Dr. Zhang Xuehua, a 2005 PhD alumna from the Biomedical Engineering program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, has been elected.

Alumna Profile

Zhang Xuehua, a 2005 PhD alumna in Biomedical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Soft Matter and Interfaces, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. As an internationally renowned expert in soft matter and interface science, she has long been dedicated to research on surface micro/nanostructured bubbles, liquid-liquid phase separation in confined spaces, chemical reactions within oil nanodroplets, and evaporation and dewetting mechanisms of multi-component and functional surfaces. Micro/nanostructured bubbles (microlenses) have broad applications in compartmentalized chemical reactions and transformations, optoelectronic devices, high-throughput analysis, sensing, and super-resolution near-field imaging.

Professor Zhang has spearheaded the development of multiple groundbreaking technologies and contributed to seven patents spanning environmental protection, nanotechnology, and healthcare. Her research team has published over 280 papers in international journals, with several innovations translated into practical applications in energy, environmental protection, and medical fields. She serves on the editorial boards of prestigious journals such as Soft Matter and the Canadian Chemical Engineering Journal, and acts as a grant reviewer for over ten international programs, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

In recognition of her academic contributions, she has received international honors such as the IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry Award and the JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Invitational Fellowship. She has delivered keynote speeches at more than 40 renowned global academic conferences, driving interdisciplinary collaboration and industrial advancements in interface science and engineering technologies.

About the Canadian Academy of Engineering

Founded in 1987, the Canadian Academy of Engineering is an independent, autonomous non-profit organization. Fellowship in the CAE is an honorary title conferred by the Canadian federal government upon experts and professors who exemplify national excellence in engineering. Fellows serve as a national think tank, providing authoritative guidance on federal project evaluation, research prioritization, and policy formulation.