Qiang Zhang

Qiang Zhang is a Senior Staff Scientist and point of contact at POWGEN, located at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Previously, he held positions as an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University, a Research Associate V at Louisiana State University, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Ames Laboratory & Iowa State University, and a Marie Curie Fellow at Laboratory CRISMAT, CNRS in France.

Dr. Zhang received his PhD in Materials Physics and Chemistry from the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2009), with prior studies as an exchange PhD student at Leiden University in the Netherlands (2006). His research focuses on exploring structural complexity at both long-range and local scales, determining magnetic structures, and understanding how the coupling between lattice, spin, orbital, and/or charge degrees of freedom drives the remarkable properties of functional materials. He employs a variety of characterization techniques with particular emphasis on elastic and inelastic neutron scattering.

Dr. Zhang has authored more than 176 publications with an H-index of 37 as of August 2025, including 41 papers as the leading/corresponding author. His recent work shows a strong focus on magnetic structures in quantum materials, particularly examining symmetry breaking phenomena, topological properties, and the interplay between different degrees of freedom in complex materials including topological semimetals, multiferroics, high-T_c superconductors, thermoelectric materials, battery materials, molecular magnets, and frustrated magnets.

• Neutron Science Division Best Paper Award (2022)
• 2022 Top 10 science achievements in SNS & HFIR (First-authored JACS)
• 2023 Top 10 science achievements in SNS & HFIR (Two papers selected: first-authored PRL and coauthored Nature energy)
• Outstanding contribution in reviewing in Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials (2017)
• Newton International Fellowship in Royal Society (2011)
• Marie Curie Fellow (2009-2011)

Dr. Zhang serves as an Associate Editor for Frontier In Physics (2023-present) and Crystals (2022-present). He has organized multiple workshops including the POWGEN workshop in 2023 and workshops on 'Neutrons and Complementary Techniques for Quantum Materials' in 2020, 2022, and 2024. He is an active member of the American Crystallographic Association, American Physical Society, Neutron Scattering Society of America, and Materials Research Society. His research is supported by his role as a point of contact at POWGEN, a powder diffractometer at the Spallation Neutron Source specializing in high-resolution diffraction studies.