Professor Tongming Zhou received his PhD in Fluid Mechanics from The University of Newcastle (Australia) in 1999. Following his doctoral studies, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor R.A. Antonia for 1.5 years before joining Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Since July 2007, he has been a faculty member in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering at The University of Western Australia (UWA).

Currently, Professor Zhou teaches and coordinates three core units within the department. His teaching philosophy focuses on real-world application, intellectual challenge, and inspiring students to become creative, self-directed, and lifelong learners. He actively integrates industry involvement into his teaching through guest lectures, hands-on industrial case studies, site visits, and consultation with Industrial Advisory Panels.

His research bridges fundamental fluid mechanics and practical engineering applications, with the goal of benefiting both industry and society. He collaborates widely with colleagues at UWA and across the global research community.

Professor Zhou’s research combines experimental and numerical methods. He has played a leading role in upgrading UWA’s experimental facilities, including the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel, the Hydraulic Laboratory Water Flume, and the 6DOF Hexapod motion platform. He has also acquired advanced measurement equipment such as a 2D Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system, 12-channel hot-wire anemometers, high-precision load cells, and a multi-channel pressure transducer. Most recently, a smoke wire flow visualisation system and a mini-capacity load cell are being proposed to enhance experimental capabilities in wake flow structure visualisation and force measurement accuracy.

As Director of the UWA Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory, Professor Zhou oversees a closed-loop wind tunnel featuring a main test section of 2.86 m (W) × 2.23 m (H) × 5 m (L), capable of wind speeds up to 10 m/s, and higher speeds in narrower test sections. The facility supports a wide range of student research projects and is also heavily utilised by industry partners and local councils across Western Australia. These consulting projects often involve aerodynamic force evaluation, wind flow characterisation, and flow-induced vibration analysis for the design and safety of engineering structures.

Program Chair for Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, UWA

Director of the Wind Tunnel Lab, UWA

Council Member, Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society

Associate Editor, AI and Surgery in Innovation and Emerging Technologies.

• Development of novel inerter-based damper for platform vibration control

Bi, K. (Investigator 01), Do, D. (Investigator 02) & Zhou, T. (Investigator 03)

ARC Australian Research Council

1/01/19 → 31/12/21

• Local Scour below Offshore Pipelines on Calcareous Sediments

Cheng, L. (Investigator 01), Zhao, M. (Investigator 02), Zhou, T. (Investigator 03), Draper, S. (Investigator 04), An, H. (Investigator 05) & White, D. (Investigator 06)

ARC Australian Research Council

1/01/13 → 31/12/15

• Vortex & Force Characteristics of an Inclined Cylinder in Oscillatory Flows

Zhou, T. (Investigator 01), Cheng, L. (Investigator 02) & Zhao, M. (Investigator 03)

ARC Australian Research Council

1/01/11 → 30/12/15

• Control of Vortex Shedding form a Circular Cylinder using Helical Strakes

Zhou, T. (Chief Investigator)

The University of Western Australia

1/01/08 → 31/12/08

• Suppression of vortex shedding and vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of single and multiple cylindrical structures using passive control methods for hazard mitigation.
• Enhancement of VIV and galloping of bluff bodies for renewable fluid energy harvesting.
• Wave resonance in the gap between floating LNG facilities and LNG carriers.
• Sloshing dynamics in partially filled tanks containing Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, relevant to maritime system safety and operability.
• Wind tunnel testing for industries on wind loads and flow conditions around designed structures.

• CIVL2551 Civil Engineering Practice (2022-present), Unit Coordinator
• CIVL5551 Engineering Survey and Design (2015-present), Unit Coordinator
• CIVL4402/CIVL3402 Hydraulics for Civil Engineers (2013-present), Unit Coordinator
• CIVL3402 Hydraulics for Civil Engineers (2022-present), Unit Coordinator
• CIVL2130 Hydraulics (2011), Unit Coordinator
• ENSC3010 Hydraulics (2012-2014), Unit Coordinator
• CIVL3130 Civil Engineering Hydraulics (2011-2012), Unit Coordinator