{"id":175115,"date":"2026-06-18T14:49:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/?p=175115"},"modified":"2026-06-18T14:49:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:49:36","slug":"xin-zhang-makes-world-changing-ideas-list-for-second-straight-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/2026\/06\/18\/xin-zhang-makes-world-changing-ideas-list-for-second-straight-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Xin Zhang Makes “World Changing Ideas” List for Second Straight Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Smart sound shield recognized by leading business magazine<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Andrew Thurston<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our world is a cacophony of sound: air conditioners rattle, factories thrum, airplanes roar. And all that clamor isn\u2019t just annoying\u2014excessive noise can also mess with our well-being, impacting cardiovascular and mental health, memory, even birth weight.<\/p>\n

But an emerging technology from Boston University researchers offers a path to a quieter future. Developed in the lab of mechanical engineer\u00a0<\/span>Xin Zhang<\/a>, this smart sound shield blocks noise without restricting airflow\u2014an attribute that could be used to turn the volume down on a range of technologies, from fans to engines.<\/p>\n

In recognition of its potential impact, the smart sound shield has been named an honoree on\u00a0<\/span>Fast Company<\/em>\u2019s 2026 World Changing Ideas list<\/a>. Finalists were selected from 1,500 entries nationwide, and all are aimed at pressing global challenges. This is the\u00a0<\/span>second year running<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>that Zhang, a BU College of Engineering Distinguished Professor of Engineering, has earned the leading business magazine\u2019s recognition.<\/p>\n

To dampen noise, the shield uses metamaterials, which Zhang describes as \u201cengineered materials whose structure can be precisely designed to manipulate different types of waves, including electromagnetic and sound waves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brink<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>spoke with Zhang to learn more about the smart sound shield and its potential impact.<\/p>\n

Read the Q&A with Xin Zhang at BU’s<\/em> The Brink<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zhang’s technology, which the magazine named a 2026 “World-Changing Idea,” could make air conditioners, airplanes, and data centers quieter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2662,"featured_media":175117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[236,257,899,907,909,908,1052],"tags":[708],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175115"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175115"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175124,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175115\/revisions\/175124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}