Tianzheng Xiao: Tianzheng Xiao (Graduate Student Member, IEEE) was born in Jiangxi, China, in 1998. He received the B. Eng. and M. Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China in 2019 and 2022, respectively. He is currently working toward the PhD degree since 2022 in electrical engineering at the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
His research interests include design and analysis of permanent magnet and electrically excited synchronous electrical machines, as well as the study of losses in electrical machines.
Zi Qiang Zhu: Zi Qiang Zhu (M’90, SM’00, F’09) received the B.Eng. and M.Sc. degrees from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, in 1991, all in electrical engineering.
From 1988 to 2025, he was with the University of Sheffield, as Professor (1997–2025), Royal Academy of Engineering/Siemens Research Chair (2014–2023), and Head of the Electrical Machines and Drives Research Group (2008–2025). Since 2025, he has been a Chair Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. He is Founding Director of four industrial research centers, including the Sheffield Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Research Centre and Midea Shanghai Electric Machines and Control Systems Research Centre. His current major research interests include design and control of permanent magnet machines and drives for applications ranging from electrified transportation through renewable energy to domestic appliance, robots, and automation. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA., the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), UK, and the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering (CSEE) and China Electrotechnical Society (CES).
Ziad Azar: Ziad Azar received the B.Eng. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Damascus, Damascus, Syria, in 2003, and the M.Sc. degree in electronic and electrical engineering and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, in 2008 and 2012, respectively.
From 2008 to 2012, Ziad was a Research Associate at the University of Sheffield, with major research interests covering modelling, design, and analysis of permanent magnet, as well as magnetless brushless machines for automotive applications. From 2012 to 2024, Ziad was with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, and the last role was the Technology Development Manager with a focus on the development and validation of generator technologies and topologies to enhance the capability, efficiency, and reliability of direct-drive wind power turbines. Ziad is currently the Head of Portfolio Strategy Management at Siemens Energy Industrial Turbomachinery, with the responsibilities of the product development and ownership, product life-cycle management, and strategy development.