At the invitation of the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMR, CAS), Prof. Xixiang Zhang from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, the recipient of the 2026 Lee Hsun Collaborative Research Award, visited IMR from September 22 to October 2.
During his visit, Prof. Zhang delivered a lecture titled “2D Ferroelectric Materials for Neuromorphic Memristors” to IMR researchers and graduate students. Two-dimensional ferroelectrics combine switchable polarization with atomic-scale thickness and clean van der Waals interfaces. These features make them attractive for studying resistive switching behavior and for developing compact memory and neuromorphic devices. In his lecture, Prof. Zhang focused on layered ferroelectric systems. In CuCrP₂S₆, electric fields drive transitions among antiferroelectric, ferrielectric and ferroelectric configurations. He examined how polar phases, interfaces and local disorder determine the electrical behavior of 2D memristors.
During his visit, Prof. Zhang also held academic discussions with researchers from the Division of Energy Information Materials and Devices. The visit further strengthened IMR’s academic exchanges with international peers in the fields of two-dimensional materials, memristors and emerging information devices.
Prof. Xixiang Zhang is currently a professor in the Physical Science and Engineering Division at KAUST. He is a renowned expert in magnetic materials, condensed matter physics and materials science. He received his bachelor’s degree in applied physics and master’s degree in condensed matter physics from Tianjin University in 1983 and 1986, respectively, and his Ph.D. in condensed matter physics from the University of Barcelona, Spain, in 1992. From 1997 to 2009, he worked at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, serving successively as assistant professor, associate professor and professor. Since 2008, he has been at KAUST, where he has held positions including Core Lab Manager, Core Lab Director and Chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Program. His papers have received over 57,000 citations with an H-index of 111. He has published more than 800 papers in journals including Science, Nature, Nature Materials and Nature Nanotechnology.
Prof. Zhang’s core academic contributions focus on low-dimensional condensed matter physics, emerging quantum materials and spintronics. His research covers two-dimensional van der Waals multiferroic materials and heterostructures, topological spin structure manipulation and novel spintronic devices, quantum transport and quantum tunneling mechanisms, and property characterization and control of emerging ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials. His work aims to reveal novel quantum effects and physical mechanisms in low-dimensional systems, providing a foundation for low-power nonvolatile information storage and neuromorphic computing hardware. He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 2016. He has also received the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award of China (2012), the First Prize of the Beijing Science and Technology Award (2011), and was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars in 2007.
