Yaping Zhang

Yaping Zhang is Professor and Director of the Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Modern Information Optics at Kunming University of Science and Technology, China. She served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science from 2012 to 2019 and is an academic leader in optics for Yunnan Province as well as a member of the Ministry of Education’s Steering Committee on Opto-Electronic Information Science and Engineering.

Education & International Experience:

• Post-Doctoral Scholar, Zhejiang University & Harvard University (2009–2011)
• Visiting Scholar, Virginia Tech, USA (2018–2022)
• Visiting Fellow, Cambridge Digital Humanities, University of Cambridge (Aug 2025–Aug 2026)

Research Focus:
Zhang’s work centers on digital holography (DH), optical scanning holography (OSH), and the use of polymers in 3-D display and 3-D object recognition. She pioneers methods for hologram generation, processing, and display, and actively explores the intersection of holography with the arts, fostering interdisciplinary research that blends technology and creative expression.

Editorial & Leadership Roles:

• Co-Editor, feature issues on “Digital Holography and Three-Dimensional Imaging” for Applied Optics, JOSAA, and Biomedical Optics Express
• Co-Editor, Special Issues “Holography, 3D Imaging and 3D Display I & II” for Applied Sciences
• Co-Editor, Research Topic “Digital Holography: Applications and Emerging Technologies” for Frontiers in Photonics
• General Chair, Optica Topical Meeting on Digital Holography and Three-Dimensional Imaging (DH 2024)
• Subcommittee Chair, Optica Annual Meeting (FiO 2021, 2022)

Books:
First author of the textbook Modern Information Optics with MATLAB, co-published by Cambridge University Press and Higher Education Press.

Professional Memberships:

• Senior Member, IEEE
• Senior Member, Optica