Zhenyu ZHAO (Senior Member, IEEE) is currently a Lecturer with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, NUS. His research focuses on electromagnetic measurement, modeling, monitoring, and safety of electrical and electronic systems. His core expertise spans two areas: electromagnetic-based non-contact online impedance measurement and its applications; and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in power electronic and transportation systems. His emerging research directions extend this work to non-invasive electromagnetic and/or ultrasonic sensing and monitoring for battery systems and implantable devices, and electromagnetic security, including TEMPEST evaluation and protection. Across these areas, he also develops and applies physics-informed and data-efficient AI as a cross-cutting methodology, and leads multiple university-, government-, and industry-supported research projects as Principal Investigator.
Alongside his research, Dr. Zhao is actively engaged in engineering education, with a teaching philosophy centered on bridging fundamental theory with engineering practice, promoting active and reflective learning, and integrating contemporary research and real-world applications into the classroom. His teaching has been recognized by the CDE College Teaching Excellence Award at NUS in 2026 (AY2024/25). He has also published an educational paper on a reflective EMC teaching framework that bridges theoretical learning, engineering applications, and project-based learning. He places strong emphasis on undergraduate mentoring and student development, with students and teams under his supervision receiving awards such as the Merit Award (Top Ten) at the 2026 National Engineers Day – Engineering Innovation Challenge (NED-EIC) and the 3rd Prize of the 2026 SP Group Engineering Award, as well as awards at the NUS ECE Showcase and FYP/Capstone Poster Competition. In addition, he currently serves as the ECE Year 1 EE Course Coordinator.
Dr. Zhao has authored a Wiley–IEEE book on electromagnetic-based non-contact online impedance measurement and its applications. He has also published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 60 peer-reviewed conference papers, including papers in Nature Communications and leading IEEE Transactions journals, with multiple papers recognized as ESI Highly Cited and Hot Papers. His research has also led to patented engineering technologies and systems, including commercially available products. He received the Young Scientist Award at the Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility (APEMC) in 2022, the Young Scientist Award from the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) in 2023, the Emerging Leader Award from Measurement Science and Technology in 2024, and multiple paper awards including the Best Paper Award at APEMC 2026 and the Best Student Paper Award at the Joint IEEE EMC & APEMC 2018. He has been included in the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists list since 2025. He served as the TPC Chair of APEMC 2026, TPC Co-Chair of ACES-China 2026 and EENES 2025, and Publicity Chair of WiPDA-Asia 2025 and SWA 2024–2026. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Measurement, etc. Within the IEEE EMC Society, he served as Chair of the Singapore Chapter from 2024 to 2025 and currently serves as Vice Chair.