Lecturer | North China Electric Power University | China
Xu Zhang is a productive researcher and lecturer specializing in advanced electrical drive systems, with a research record focused on flux-weakening control, sensorless control, model predictive control, and high-speed AC motor performance. He has authored over forty academic papers, with many appearing in top-tier journals such as IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, and IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification; he is frequently the first or corresponding author. Xu has led competitive research projects funded by national and provincial agencies and served as a guest editor and reviewer for major journals. His work blends theoretical control design, algorithm development, and experimental validation, resulting in recognized contributions to torque quality improvement, overmodulation suppression, and rotor-parameter estimation techniques. Colleagues and collaborators note his consistent research leadership, strong grant-winning record, and commitment to translating advanced control methods toward practical motor-drive implementations.
Professional Profile
ORCID
Education
Xu Zhang completed a progressive program of formal training in electrical engineering. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, followed by a Master’s degree and then a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. His postgraduate training emphasized electric drives, power electronics, and control theory, and his doctoral research concentrated on high-speed flux-weakening control and dynamic current control for AC and induction motors. His graduate studies included coursework and research in control systems, power converters, electrical machines, and signal processing for sensorless drives. The academic training was complemented by research placements and collaborations at institutions active in power-electronics research, enabling him to couple rigorous theoretical foundations with experimental and simulation-based validation. His formal education prepared him to design advanced control architectures and to publish in high-impact venues in power electronics and industrial electronics.
Experience
Xu Zhang’s professional experience combines academic appointment, doctoral research, and project leadership. He currently serves as a Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, where he teaches courses and supervises student research while leading laboratory experiments on motor-drive control. Previously he completed his Ph.D., during which he executed multiple research projects on flux-weakening, sensorless control, and predictive control. He has been principal investigator or project lead on grants from national postdoctoral programs and from provincial and university funding agencies. His duties include designing control algorithms, directing prototype testing, preparing grant proposals, and coordinating collaborators across institutions. He has chaired conference sessions, served as guest editor for journals, and regularly reviews submissions for leading IEEE journals. This combination of teaching, laboratory leadership, grant management, and scholarly service underpins his capacity to deliver research that is both rigorous and application-ready.
Research focus
Xu Zhang’s research centers on control strategies and practical techniques that improve the performance of electric motor drives under constrained-voltage and high-speed conditions. Key focus areas include flux-weakening control for PMSMs and induction motors, sensorless position estimation and back-EMF methods, overmodulation and torque ripple mitigation, and model predictive control tailored to finite-control-set converters. He also investigates online parameter estimation (e.g., rotor time-constant estimation) to maintain performance across operating conditions and develops methods for improved current dynamic response and torque quality under voltage saturation and hexagon voltage extension. His work integrates analytical modeling, adaptive/robust control design, and experimental validation on drive testbeds, aiming to increase torque output, reduce harmonic distortion, and enhance position estimation accuracy without relying on mechanical sensors. Research directions increasingly include bridging advanced control methods to real-time implementation and industrial testbed validation.
Publication Top Notes
Title: Accuracy Improvement of Back-EMF-Based Position Sensorless Control of PMSM Drives Based on Virtual Current Sampling
Year: 2025
Title: A Model Reference Adaptive System-Based Online Rotor Time Constant Estimation Method for Induction Motor Field-Weakening Control Utilizing Dot Product of Stator Voltage and Stator Current
Year: 2024
Title: Analysis and Optimization of Current Coupling Control in Flux-Weakening Region of PMSM
Year: 2024
Title: Optimization of Current Dynamic Performance and Torque Harmonic for Induction Motor Field-Weakening Control Under Hexagon Voltage Extension
Year: 2024
Title: Overmodulation Harmonic Modeling and Suppression for Induction Motor Field-Weakening Control With Extended Voltage Tracking Method
Year: 2023
Title: Torque Adaptive Hexagon Voltage Extension Method for PMSM Flux-Weakening Control Based on Dual PI Cascade Structure
Year: 2023
Title: Minimum-Nonlinear-Voltage Method for Torque Ripple Suppression in Induction Motor Overmodulation and Field-Weakening Control
Year: 2022
Title: Overmodulation Index Optimization Method for Torque Quality Improvement in Induction Motor Field-Weakening Control
Year: 2021
Title: Unified Complex Vector Field-Weakening Control for Induction Motor High-Speed Drives
Year: 2021
Conclusion
Xu Zhang is a highly promising and impactful researcher whose work bridges theoretical innovation with practical applications in electric motor drive systems. His strong publication record, consistent funding acquisition, leadership roles in top conferences, and recognition through prestigious awards position him as a deserving candidate for the Best Researcher Award. With continued efforts toward expanding interdisciplinary collaboration and exploring next-generation control strategies, Xu Zhang is poised to become a leading figure in the field of advanced motor control systems.
