Houxiang Zhang is a Professor and Deputy Head of Department (Research) at the Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering , Faculty of Engineering , Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Ålesund, Norway. He joined NTNU in 2011 and holds an industry-supported gift professorship (2011-2016). His research focuses on biological robots/modular robotics and virtual prototyping/marine mechatronics , with over 300 publications and 8 patents. Ph.D. in Mechanical and Electronic Engineering (2003) Habilitation in Informatics (2011) Research Interests include: Bio-inspired robotics and system design Marine automation and ship intelligence Digital twin technology and co-simulation Hybrid modeling approaches Artificial intelligence applications in maritime systems Scientific Awards and recognitions: Multiple IEEE best paper awards (2008, 2014, 2015, 2023, 2024) Finalist in IEEE Robotics and Automation conferences Dimitris N. Chorafas Award for outstanding PhD work Academy memberships: IEEE Senior (2012), NTVA (2019), DKNVS (2024) Advising and Research Leadership : Supervised 21 PhD/Master's students WP Leader for EU Horizon project RoboSAPIENS (2024-2026, 7.5M Euros) Key member in Norwegian Digital Ocean Space-Møre Ocean Lab (2023-2030, 30.7M NOK) Coordinated major SFI projects (2015-2022, 190M NOK each)









