Peter Xinya Zhang

Associate Professor

Department of Audio Arts and Acoustics

Columbia College Chicago

Peter Xinya Zhang, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago, Department of Audio Arts and Acoustics, overseeing the Bachelor of Science program in Acoustics and the Bachelor of Arts program in Live Sound Reinforcement. His research interests include psychoacoustics (especially binaural and spatial hearing, 3D sound simulation, and virtual reality), auditory physiology, singing voice, acoustics and its applications in media arts, cultural and creative industry, and Chinese traditional performing arts. He has published in journals on acoustics and hearing, such as the Journal of Acoustical Society of America and the Journal of Hearing Research. He is the author of the chapter on Psychoacoustics in “Handbook for Sound Engineers”, an industry-standard handbook worldwide. He is a full member of the Acoustical Society of America and a full member of the Audio Engineering Society. He reactivated the Chicago Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America and served as Chair of the Chapter from 2010 to 2013.

Dr. Zhang has appeared on stage and TV, as a tenor in Western opera and Peking opera, and as MC of performance galas. He gives lectures on Chinese traditional performing arts at Peking University to students across the world. Dr. Zhang has been promoting the cultural exchange between the United States and China, and he currently serves as a Researcher at the International Research Center for Jingju (Peking Opera) Heritage, and a Researcher at the National Institute of Cultural Development, China. He is the President of the Society of Chinese-American Professors and Scientists.

Dr. Zhang was as Director of China Initiative for Columbia College Chicago from 2012 to 2016, when he established partnerships with top-tier institutions in China, which significantly increased the college’s international enrollments, and created international collaborative research opportunities for faculty and students.

Dr. Zhang received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Peking University, China, and a Ph.D. in physics, majoring in psychoacoustics, from Michigan State University, U.S.A.