Inaugural Lecture: Professor Zhi-Qiang Zhang, School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
- Date: Tuesday 19 May 2026, 15:45 – 18:00
- Location: Electronic and Electrical Engineering
- Type: Inaugural Lecture
- Cost: Free
Join us on 19 May for the upcoming Inaugural Lecture of Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
An inaugural lecture is a significant milestone in any academic’s career, recognising their promotion to Professor. It also offers an opportunity for our new professorial colleagues to showcase their work and innovative research with a broad audience, including members of the public, family, friends, and colleagues.
This lecture is part of a Faculty-wide series that celebrates those who have joined the University to offer ever greater teaching, research, and expertise across our eight Schools.
About this lecture
In his inaugural lecture, “Understand Movement: How the Brain, Body, and Robots Can Work Together”, Professor Zhang links computational biomechanics, gait simulation, and brain-computer interfaces to show how modelling brain-body movement allows more natural human-robot interaction to support safer, more effective rehabilitation technologies.
Using computational models of the neuromusculoskeletal system, Professor Zhang analyses how the brain and body produce movement by estimating internal movement variables (i.e., muscle forces and joint moments) that cannot be readily measured in vivo. These models then drive gait simulations, allowing realistic predictions of walking patterns while reducing experimental burden.
Building on this foundation, Professor Zhang’s lecture will show how brain-computer interfaces provide access to neural intent, linking brain signals with biomechanical and robotic models to more accurately interpret voluntary movement, or help those with impaired motor control. These insights enable more natural human-robot interaction, where robots can better adapt to human movement and intention to provide safer, more personalised support, improving mobility and rehabilitation outcomes.
About our speaker
Zhi-Qiang Zhang is Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering. After getting his BEng in Computer Science from Tianjin University in 2005 and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2010, he joined the Hamlyn Centre at Imperial College London as a postdoctoral researcher, and stayed there for five and half years.
He joined the University of Leeds in 2016 as a University Academic Fellow and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2021, before becoming a Professor in 2024. His research combines computational biomechanics, computational modelling and simulation, brain-computer interfaces, and human-robot interaction to study how the brain and body produce movement and to develop intelligent rehabilitation robots that support mobility and recovery.
Book your place
The lecture will take place in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds, with arrival and registration from 3:45pm in the foyer, and the lecture commencing at 4:00pm in the Rhodes Lecture Theatre. This will be followed by a drinks reception in the foyer at 5:00pm.
Booking is required to attend this event – you can do so at our dedicated ticket portal. Please book by Friday 15th May.