Quan Zhou received the M.Sc degree in Control Engineering and Dr. Tech. degree in Automation Technology, both from Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland. Currently, he is with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland. 

Currently, he is leading the robotic instruments group, working on acoustic manipulation, magnetic micromanipulation, nanoforce characterization, autonomous micromanipulation, microassembly, self-assembly, and their applications in biomedical, material and industrial applications. The research is highly interdisciplinary, from micro- and nanoscale physics, surface sciences, mechatronics, to automation methods. His work has been published in major international journals, including Nature Communications, Physical Review Letters, Advanced Materials, and IEEE Transactions. Prof. Zhou was the winner of the Anton Paar Research Award for Instrumental Analytics and Characterization.

He is currently the coordinator of the TG Miniaturized Robotics of European Robotics Association (euRobotics). He was also the General Chair of International Conference on Manipulation, Automation and Robotics at Small Scales, MARSS 2019. Prof. Zhou was also the coordinator of EU FP7 project FAB2ASM. He was also the Chair of IEEE Finland Joint Chapter of Control System Society, Robotics and Automation Society and System Man and Cybernetics Society.