Xiaolin Zhong

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department Chair

Xiaolin Zhong is the chair and a professor of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.

Zhong has been a member of the school’s faculty for more than 30 years and leads the Hypersonics and Computational Aerodynamics Group. The group conducts research on the fundamental physics of hypersonic flows using advanced numerical tools and the application of discovered fundamental knowledge to real-world aerospace systems, such as the development of hypersonic planes and space vehicles.

He regularly teaches undergraduate courses on elementary fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, the mathematics of engineering and numerical methods for engineering applications. He also teaches graduate courses on compressible flows, computational aerodynamics, and hypersonic and high-temperature gas dynamics. Additionally, Zhong is the aerospace engineering area chair for the school’s Master of Science Online Program.

Zhong received his bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University in China and his doctorate in aeronautics/astronautics from Stanford University, joining the UCLA faculty in 1991 as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 1997 and to full professor in 2002. Zhong served as the department’s vice chair for graduate affairs from 2006 to 2011.

Zhong’s appointment as chair became effective July 1, 2022.