Dr Dezong Zhao
- Senior Lecturer in Autonomous Systems (Autonomous Systems & Connectivity)
Biography
Work Experience
- Senior Lecturer in Autonomous Systems, University of Glasgow, 2020 - present
- Lecturer in Intelligent Systems, Loughborough University, 2017 - 2020
- Research Associate, Loughborough University, 2011 - 2017
- Research Fellow, Tsinghua University, 2010 - 2011
Qualifications
- PhD in Control Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing China, 2006 - 2010
- MSc in Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China, 2003 - 2006
- BEng in Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China, 1999 - 2003
Research interests
Dr Zhao’s research spans multiple areas of autonomous systems, including perception, decision making, modelling, control, inference, learning and computing. He is passionate in investigating fundamental theory and tools to develop safe, trustworthy and efficient autonomous systems. In applications, he aims to tackle the challenges raised in connected and autonomous vehicles, robotics, low carbon vehicles and mechatronics.
Grants
- Tianjin University Open Fund, Decision Making and Control for the Ecological Driving of Connected and Automated Vehicles, PI, K2022-13, CNY100,000, 2022-2024.
- EPSRC Innovation Fellowship, Towards Energy Efficient Autonomous Vehicles via Cloud-Aided Learning, PI, EP/S001956/1, £526,502, 2018-2022.
- Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship, Cooperative Vehicular Communication and Robust Control for Mixed Vehicle Platoons, PI, NAF/R1/201213, £74,000, 2020-2023.
- Tsinghua University Open Fund, Eco-Safe Driving for Automated Vehicles based on Driving Environment Prediction, PI, KF2009, CNY100,000, 2020-2021.
- Caterpillar I&RC Project, Global Nonlinear Control of Electrified Diesel Engines, PI, 20130319, £30,000, 2013-2014.
- EPSRC Institutional Sponsorship, Digital Engineering Performance Networks, Co-I, EP/R512941/1, £202,000, 2017-2018.
- NSFC Standard Grant, Modelling, Control and Scheduling of Networked Cooperation Systems with Multi Agents, Co-I, 61174068, CNY630,000, 2011–2015.
Supervision
I welcome enquiries to supervise PhD students with interests in automatic control, machine intelligence, autonomous vehicles and robotics.
Current PhDs
- Mr Jinsong Yang (2018-), Ecological Connected and Automated Vehicles
- Mr Weihao Lu (2019-), Point Cloud based Perception of Autonomous Vehicles
- Mr Hari Vijayakumar (2019-), Decision Making of Autonomous Vehicles under Uncertainties
- Mr Zhen Tian (2021-), Transparent Modelling of Autonomous Systems
- Mr Zhaoan Ye (2021-), Control with learning-based models for autonomous systems
- Mr Qikun Chen (2022-), Decision making of autonomous systems in the adversarial environment
- Mr Yang Liu (2022-), Multi-sensor fusion perception and positioning for autonomous vehicles
Finished RA
- Dr Jianglin Lan (2018-2021), RA in Low Carbon Autonomous Vehicles
- Dr Juan Du (2019-2020), RA in Image Analysis and Machine Learning
- Dr Lu Ge (2020-2021), RA in Communications in Connected Vehicles
- Dr Dan Zhou (2020-2021), RA in Energy Management of Autonomous Vehicles
Teaching
- ENG 4175/ENG5107, Autonomous Vehicle Guidance Systems
- ENG 3005/ENG3071, Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Group project)
Professional activities & recognition
Prizes, awards & distinctions
- 2015: Young Researcher Award (IEEE Control on Decision and Control)
- 2016: Most Citation Award (International Journal of Automation and Computing)
- 2016: Santander Mobility Award (Santander)
- 2018, 2019: Best Poster Prize (Future Powertrain Conference)
- 2021: Best Paper Award (IEEE International Conference on Unmanned Systems)
- 2021: Excellent Solution Award (Global High-Level Talent Innovation and Application Competition)
Research fellowships
- 2018 - 2022: EPSRC Innovation Fellowship
- 2020 - 2023: Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship
Grant committees & research advisory boards
- 2018: UKRI Future Leaders Fellow Peer Review College, Member
- 2020: EPSRC Peer Review College, Full member
Editorial boards
- 2022: Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
Professional & learned societies
- 2017: Senior Member, IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
- 2019: Member, Society of Automotive Engineers
- 2019: Fellow, Higher Education Academy
- 2020: Member, IET (The Institution of Engineering and Technology)
Selected international presentations
- 2021: COTA International Conference of Transportation Professionals (Online)
- 2021: CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (Online)