{"id":3290,"date":"2025-12-22T22:22:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T03:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/?page_id=3290"},"modified":"2026-02-18T11:50:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:50:20","slug":"3290-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/news\/media-highlights\/3290-2\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n\/* remove bottom margin from the last element inside the content container *\/\ndetails > div:last-of-type > :last-child{\n  margin-bottom: 0 !important;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div style=\"line-height:0; margin:-12px 0 0 0; padding:0;\">\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0 4px 0; font-style:italic; line-height:1.4;\">\n  Our research has been featured by hundreds of international media and news outlets, as well as professional societies and industry communication platforms.\n  <\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<details open style=\"margin:6pt; border:1px solid #e2e2e2; border-radius:10px; background:#fafafa; overflow:hidden; display:block;\">\n<div style=\"height:4px; background:linear-gradient(90deg,#f58529,#dd2a7b,#8134af,#515bd4);\"><\/div>\n<summary style=\"margin:0; cursor:pointer; font-weight:bold; font-size:18px; padding:8px 12px; background:#f0f2f5; border-bottom:1px solid #eaeaea; line-height:1.7;\">\n      Metamaterials that enable highly efficient, air-permeable sound silencing and noise reduction<br \/>\n    <\/summary>\n<div style=\"padding:8px 12px 10px; background:#ffffff; font-size:17px; line-height:1.7;\">\n<div style=\"padding:10px; margin:8px 0; background:#F0F8FF; border-left:5px solid #6ea8fe; border-radius:10px; box-shadow: 0 16px 36px rgba(0,0,0,0.14), 0 6px 14px rgba(0,0,0,0.08), 0 10px 26px rgba(110,168,254,0.18);\">\n        &ldquo;Though less publicized than its notorious air and water counterparts, noise pollution is a growing problem,&rdquo; [Geek.com]. Prof. Xin Zhang and her team at Boston University &ldquo;have recently made a remarkable discovery,&rdquo; [Bold Business]; &ldquo;have created a new kind of material,&rdquo; [Smithsonian]; &ldquo;have come up with a solution that outperforms them all,&rdquo; [Gizmodo]; and &ldquo;have done the seemingly impossible,&rdquo; [ASME]. Their breakthrough innovation, described as &ldquo;shape blocking sound,&rdquo; [Alliant], is &ldquo;quite a feat of metamaterial design,&rdquo; [Fabbaloo], which &ldquo;could help bring peace and quiet to our lives,&rdquo; [Digital Trends].\n      <\/div>\n<div style=\"padding:10px; margin:8px 0; background:#F5FFFA; border-left:5px solid #34c38f; border-radius:10px; box-shadow: 0 16px 36px rgba(0,0,0,0.14), 0 6px 14px rgba(0,0,0,0.08), 0 10px 26px rgba(52,195,143,0.16);\">\n        &ldquo;Whether at work, in health or in transport, this soundproofing ring could change our lives,&rdquo; [Business Insider], specifically by enabling the ability &ldquo;to curtail noise from aircraft, fans and HVAC systems without interfering with the airflow,&rdquo; [Smithsonian]. As highlighted by The Wall Street Journal, &ldquo;there are all kinds of mechanical applications that would benefit from lightweight, see-through soundproofing that can stop noise, but still allow air to flow freely. And that&rsquo;s what Zhang&rsquo;s team did,&rdquo; [The Wall Street Journal]. Prof. Zhang&rsquo;s innovative &ldquo;metamaterials block noise without hindering air flow,&rdquo; [Design News], unlocking &ldquo;endless applications for the technology in different fields,&rdquo; [SolidSmack].\n      <\/div>\n<div style=\"padding:10px; margin:8px 0; background:#FFFAF0; border-left:5px solid #f7b84b; border-radius:10px; box-shadow: 0 16px 36px rgba(0,0,0,0.14), 0 6px 14px rgba(0,0,0,0.08), 0 10px 26px rgba(247,184,75,0.16);\">\n        Described as a &ldquo;ring of silence,&rdquo; [Thomas Insights], and &ldquo;a meta-material to end noise pollution,&rdquo; [Plastics the mag], Prof. Zhang&rsquo;s invention is &ldquo;as cool as it sounds!&rdquo; [Mashable]. &ldquo;The potential uses are endless,&rdquo; [Built in Boston], and &ldquo;there&rsquo;s really no limit to the possibilities,&rdquo; [Fast Company]. Acclaimed as &ldquo;the strongest sound insulation research in history!&rdquo; [TechOrang], it&rsquo;s no wonder &ldquo;the industry is crazy!&rdquo; [L&rsquo;Usine nouvelle]. Experts suggest &ldquo;this could be a whole new industry,&rdquo; [Fabbaloo], and even predict &#8220;we may finally have a 3DPrinter popular hit,&#8221; [WIRED]. Additionally, &#8220;the structure is also very lightweight and looks beautiful,&#8221; [Mashable].\n      <\/div>\n<div style=\"padding:10px; margin:8px 0; background:#FFFAFA; border-left:5px solid #f06595; border-radius:10px; box-shadow: 0 16px 36px rgba(0,0,0,0.14), 0 6px 14px rgba(0,0,0,0.08), 0 10px 26px rgba(240,101,149,0.16);\">\n        Ultimately, Prof. Zhang&rsquo;s discovery &ldquo;could have a significant impact on architecture and design,&rdquo; [Hunker], ushering in &ldquo;a new (and quiet) era of acoustics,&rdquo; [Discoveries News]. Beyond engineering applications, even wellness and mindfulness industries&mdash;already worth billions&mdash;&ldquo;may also benefit from these advances,&rdquo; [Future Science News]. Clearly, &ldquo;the future is coming, and it&rsquo;s just the right volume,&rdquo; [Curiosity].\n      <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our research has been featured by hundreds of international media and news outlets, as well as professional societies and industry communication platforms. Metamaterials that enable highly efficient, air-permeable sound silencing and noise reduction &ldquo;Though less publicized than its notorious air and water counterparts, noise pollution is a growing problem,&rdquo; [Geek.com]. Prof. Xin Zhang and her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1316,"featured_media":0,"parent":3280,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3290"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3290"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9818,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3290\/revisions\/9818"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/xinzhang-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}