Qiming Zhang, professor of electrical engineering at Penn State, poses for a headshot. Credit: Poornima Tomy / Penn State College of Engineering.
Qiming Zhang receives SPIE lifetime achievement honor
Feb 25, 2026
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Qiming Zhang, the Harvey F. Brush Chair in the Department of Electrical Engineering, has been named the recipient of the 2026 SPIE Smart Structures and Materials (SSM) Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes senior researchers who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of smart structures and materials.
SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics. The SPIE SSM Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals whose research has had a lasting impact on the smart structures and materials community and who have demonstrated strong engagement with the SPIE symposium. Zhang was selected by the award committee based on the breadth and influence of his work and his longstanding contributions to the field.
As part of the recognition, Zhang will receive an SPIE certificate and will be invited to attend the 2026 SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation meeting from March 16-19 in Vancouver. He is also scheduled to deliver a plenary talk at the 2027 SPIE meeting, where he will share insights from his career and ongoing research.
Zhang also is affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Materials Research Institute and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Physical Society. He recently was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering, among other honors and achievements.
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