ZHOU Ji, specialized in mechanical engineering, graduated from Tsinghua University in 1970 and received PhD degree from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984. He is a professor in Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). Dr. Zhou successively served the posts as President of HUST, Director-General of the Hubei Provincial Department of Science and Technology, Mayor of Wuhan city, and Minister of Education.

During his professional career, Dr. Zhou was actively involved in research and development of Optimal Design, Computer Aided Design, and Numerical Control technology. He advanced the algorithm of direct interpolation for NC machining and the algorithm of monotonism analysis for optimization. He and his team developed a series of NC equipments and software packages on mechanical CAD, which has been widely used in various industries like machinery, aeronautics, astronautics and energy. Dr. Zhou has got 12 books and over 200 papers published and was honored several times with the State Award for Science and Technology Progress.

Dr. Zhou is a Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). Also he is a Foreign Member of National Academy of Engineering (NAE/US), Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK).