After graduating with a Bachelor's degree with double major in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Zhixiang is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California. He mainly focused on the control of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for advanced capabilities.

He is currently working on new conventional UAV design adapt from prior HRVIP researcher Ilya Anishchenko. The UAV is aimed to be capable for the vertical take-off and transition to the horizontal fly when needed. The hardware used for the flight control is Pixhawk. The UAV is now capable for the vertical take-off and hovering. The next phase will be research on the control for the transition from vertical flight to horizontal fly. The aims for this type of UAV are to maximize the operating distance and fly time.