Dr Zhou is Technical Director with Knights Synergy (S) Pte Ltd. He has more than 30 years of experience in technology development, engineering and project management in rock engineering and underground space development. He played leading roles in several major rock engineering and research projects and served as technical advisor to many government ministries in Singapore. He led the rock engineering and technology development for the pioneering underground ammunition facility in Singapore and developing new safety standards for underground ammunition storage which have been adopted by NATO.

Dr Zhou received several awards for his work in rock engineering and underground space development. He received the Defence Technology Prize 2018 Individual (Engineering) Award, and was a key member of the winning teams for the Institute of Engineers Singapore (IES) Prestigious Engineering Achievement Awards 2004, and the Institute of Engineers Singapore Top 50 Engineering Feats for the Underground Ammunition Facility project (DSTA) and the Jurong Rock Caverns Project (JTC) in 2016. He was twice featured in the IES Who’s Who in Engineering Singapore 2013 and 2020 edition.

Dr Zhou is a Fellow of the Academy of Engineering Singapore and Fellow of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering (ISRM). He is currently an ACUUS Director (Asia) & Board member and a member of the Advisory Board of the International Tunnelling Association Committee on Underground Space. He is a member of the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Tunnelling & Underground Space Technology. He has authored/co-authored more than 100 technical papers, and nine (9) books/edited books and conference proceedings as editor or co-editor covering topics on rock mechanics, rock dynamics, and underground space use. He lectures regularly at university underground and graduate programmes and professional training activities both in Singapore and internationally.

Dr Zhou was Head Engineering (Underground Facilities) with the Defence Science and Technology Agency from 2013 to 2021 and con-currently Adjunct Associate Professor at the Nanyang Technological University (2011 to 2018), Founding Chairman of the Commission on Rock Dynamics (2008-2011) & Vice President for Asia of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) (2011-2015), and Vice President of the Associated research Centers for the Urban Underground Space (ACUUS) from 2013 to 2016.