Zhuomin Zhang Named 2026 Zeigler Outstanding Educator
He will deliver a lecture on nanoscale heat transfer Oct. 27.
September 23, 2026
By Mikey Fuller
Zhuomin Zhang, J. Erskine Love Jr. Professor, has been selected by his peers in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering to receive the Jack M. Zeigler Outstanding Educator Award in recognition of his long‑standing and sustained excellence in engineering education.
Created in 1999, the award recognizes an outstanding educator among the Woodruff School’s academic faculty and is a lifetime achievement award that a person can receive only once.
Zhang will deliver the Jack Zeigler Outstanding Educator Lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 1:00 p.m. in the Manufacturing Related Disciplines Complex (MRDC), room 4211. His talk, titled "Why is 'Nanoscale Heat Transfer' so popular?," will explore his career experience, starting from a relatively new research area that has evolved into a dynamic and increasingly popular field. A reception will follow.
Carolyn Seepersad, Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. School Chair and professor, says she’s proud of Zhang for receiving this lifetime achievement award.
“This award honors Zhuomin’s exceptional impact through outstanding classroom teaching, transformative curriculum and laboratory development, dedicated mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students, and internationally recognized contributions to engineering education, including widely adopted educational scholarship and textbooks,” Seepersad said.
In his over 30-year academic career, Zhang has made a profound impact on engineering education by bridging traditional thermal engineering with cutting-edge nanoscale thermal science research. He authored the globally recognized textbook, Nano/Microscale Heat Transfer, which allows students to gain a solid background in thermal phenomena that occur at small length scales and short timescales—mechanisms that are fundamental to modern semiconductor, microelectronics, nanomanufacturing, and photonic technologies.
Beyond developing academic curricula and an educational laboratory, Zhang has guided dozens of Ph.D. students and postdocs to award-winning dissertations and prestigious careers in academia and industry, significantly shaping the next generation of educators and engineers.
Zhang’s pioneering research in thermophysics, radiative heat transfer, and thermodynamics is vital to current and emerging technologies, earning him numerous prestigious awards such as the 2021 AIAA Thermophysics Award, the 2025 Elsevier/JQSRT Poynting Award on Radiative Transfer, and the 2026 ASME James Harry Potter Gold Medal.
Before joining Georgia Tech, Zhang was a guest scientist in the Optical Technology Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and a faculty member at the University of Florida. He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, in 1982 and 1985, respectively. He earned a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992
About Jack M. Zeigler
Jack M. Zeigler received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1948 after interrupting his education with 3.5 years of service in the U.S. Army. While at Georgia Tech, he was a co-op student at two companies, where he worked primarily as a draftsman. In one company, he earned $1.25 an hour; this was a raise from $0.55 per hour at the other company.
Zeigler, who passed away at the age of 93 on May 28, 2016, was the retired president and owner of Fabrication Engineering Service Company, Inc. (FESCO). FESCO specializes in the made-to-order fabrication business using high-quality alloy steels to produce tanks for the chemicals industry and pressure vessels for textile manufacturers.
Until his retirement in 1989, Zeigler was a registered professional engineering in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, and he was a lifetime member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Welding Society.
Zeigler was very supportive of Georgia Tech. He was the chairman of the Charlotte Regional Campaign Steering Committee of the Georgia Tech Centennial Campaign, a member of the Alexander-Tharpe Fund Board of Trustees, a member of the class of 1948 40th Reunion Fund Committee, and past president of the Charlotte Georgia Tech Club.
He was also the recipient of the 1994 Woodruff School Distinguished Alumnus Award and the 1994 Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award sponsored by the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. Zeigler was born in Thomasville, Georgia, and resided with his wife, Sarah, in Charlotte, North Carolina.