Lei Zuo joined in the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor as an endowed professor in August 2022. He was previously the Robert E. Hord Jr. Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the director of NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems at Virginia Tech. His research interest includes marine renewable energy (ocean waves, tidal currents, offshore wind, etc), energy harvesting, vibration and control, mechatronics design, vehicles and transportation, and advanced manufacturing. His research has been funded with over 90 projects of USD $25M by various funding agencies and industries. He has authored about 360 papers including over 15 with the best paper awards. He has graduated about 70 Ph.D. and master students, mentored 16 postdocs, and advised about 200 undergraduates in senior designs or research.

Lei Zuo was the sole recipient of the 2017 ASME Leonardo da Vinci Award and the 2015 ASME Thar Energy Design Award. He also received R&D 100 Awards twice (2015 and 2011) and received 2014 SAE Ralph R.Teetor Educational Award. Lei Zuo completed his BS in Automotive Engineering (07/1997) from Tsinghua University and his MS (02/2002) and Ph.D. (02/2005) in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. He also held a MS (02/2002) in Electrical Engineering from MIT.