Rate My Professor Zhiqin Chu

Zhiqin Chu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Hong Kong, with a joint appointment in the School of Biomedical Sciences. He also serves as Associate Head (RPg Teaching and Learning) and is an IEEE Senior Member. He earned his B.S. degree in Physics from Northwest University in China in July 2008 and his Ph.D. degree in Physics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in July 2012. After completing one year of postdoctoral research at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, he conducted further postdoctoral research at the University of Stuttgart in Germany from April 2014 to September 2016. He joined the University of Hong Kong as an Assistant Professor in November 2018 and was promoted to tenured Associate Professor in November 2024.

Professor Chu’s research interests include quantum technologies, diamond defects, and biophysics, with specific focus on quantum biosensing, CVD diamond, nanodiamonds, NV centers, and cell mechanobiology. Since joining HKU, he has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Nature, Nature Communications, and Science Advances, and has filed 14 patents related to diamond technology. Notable publications include “Scalable Production of Ultraflat and Ultraflexible Diamond Membrane” in Nature (2024), “Quantum-Enhanced Diamond Molecular Tension Microscopy for Quantifying Cellular Forces” in Science Advances (2024), and “High-dimensional anticounterfeiting nanodiamonds authenticated with deep metric learning” in Nature Communications (2024). He has received multiple awards, including the Gold Medal and Top 10 Best Invention Award at the 2023 International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada (iCAN), the Silver Medal at the 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days, the Gold Medal at the 2024 International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, and the Outstanding Young Researcher Award at the HKU Excellence Awards 2025.