Prof. ZHANG Qian, Tencent Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, was appointed as the Head of the Division of Integrative Systems and Design (ISD) effective from March 1, 2025.

Prof. Zhang received her PhD in Computer Science from the Wuhan University in 1999. After graduation, Prof. Zhang spent a few years in the industry, working as a Researcher in Microsoft Research Asia before joining HKUST as Associate Professor in September 2005. She was promoted to full Professor in 2010 and was conferred the Chair Professor title in 2016. Prof. Zhang is a distinguished scholar in general distributed systems and wireless Internet technologies, including next-generation wireless networks and systems, cognitive and cooperative wireless networking, sensor networking, large-scale peer-to-peer systems, and multimedia communications. As a significant contributor in the areas of AIoT, smart health, and mobile networking and systems, her international reputation is evidenced by numerous accolades that she has received, including the recent RGC Senior Research Fellow Award (2024), multiple IEEE Best Paper Awards, and having been recognized as an IEEE Fellow (2012) and a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering (HKAE) (2020).

In addition to her notable research achievements, Prof. Zhang is a well-respected leader at the University, currently serving as the Acting Head of the Division, Director of Digital Life Research Center, Director of the HKUST MOE/MSRA Information Technology Key Laboratory, and Co-Director of HKUST-Huawei Joint Laboratory. Since her appointment as the Acting Head of ISD in February 2024, she has successfully recruited seven faculty members with diverse backgrounds to strengthen the Division’s research capacity, addressed the Division’s unique challenges of project-based learning curriculum by emphasizing a balanced approach to curriculum development and improvement of the undergraduate program, and her dedicated mentorship and support to young and early-career faculty members of the Division. Her well-rounded understanding of the Division’s challenges and opportunities, together with her strong industry connections, position her well to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty from various research fields and leverage each discipline’s strengths to create innovative programs and research initiatives.

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Zhang as she takes on this role!