Xiaoming Zhai

Xiaoming Zhai is an Associate Professor in Ocean Modelling at the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, and a member of the Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. His career includes roles from Lecturer (2012) to Senior Lecturer (2017) before his current position (2019). He holds a PhD from Dalhousie University's Oceanography Department and has conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Oxford and IFM-GEOMAR in Germany.

His research focuses on ocean physical processes, particularly the dynamics of ocean circulation, eddy interactions, near-inertial waves, and air-sea interactions. Key projects include investigating eddy energy dissipation timescales, Southern Ocean circulation impacts, and the annual cycle of eddy energy. He has secured funding from the Royal Society and Natural Environment Research Council for initiatives like the GEOMETRIC project on ocean eddy representation in climate models.

Zhai has received prestigious awards including the Challenger Fellowship (2018) and Kan Tong Po Fellowship (2023). His recent publications explore topics like South China Sea eddies, internal tide generation under global warming, and zonal jet dynamics in geostrophic turbulence. He actively supervises PhD students and contributes to academic activities such as external doctoral examinations and peer review panels.