Dr. Ya-Qin Zhang to join Tsinghua University as the Chair Professor of AI Science
Dr. Ya-Qin Zhang, world-renowned scientist and entrepreneur, will join Tsinghua University as the Chair Professor of AI Science, with a joint appointment from the School of Vehicle and Mobility and the Department of Computer Science and Technology. He will lead a research center for the Advanced Industry Research (AIR), focusing on scientific research and technological innovation for the fourth industrial revolution, such as autonomous driving, AI+IoT, and neuromorphic computing.
Dr. Zhang is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the Australia Academy of Engineering, and IEEE. He has published over 500 papers in leading international conferences and journals, 11 books, and holds 62 US patents. His research and inventions in video coding, mobile communications, media streaming and embedded operating systems have been widely used in mainstream products and international standards. He has received many prestigious academic, technical, and industrial awards, including the IEEE centennial medal, IEEE Industry Pioneer Award, David Sarnoff Award, and over a dozen best paper awards of various IEEE transactions and conferences. He serves on the Board of Stewardship for the Future of Mobility of the Davos World Economic Forum, and is the Chairman of the Apollo Alliance, the largest open platform for autonomous driving in the world with over 170 global partners. He is a founding member of the Private Sector Board for the United Nations Development Program, and received the UN special award for sustainable development in 2016.
In 1978, at age 12, Dr. Zhang was admitted to the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) as the youngest college student at the time. He went on to receive his Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the George Washington University in 1989. Dr. Ya-Qin Zhang became an IEEE Fellow in 1997 at age 31 as the youngest Fellow of the organization’s 100+ year history. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as the only Chinese fellow in the field of computer science in 2019, for his seminal contributions to digital video technology and stellar leadership in global innovation. Dr. Zhang plans to start his academic research, talent development and philanthropic engagement at Tsinghua University in July 2020.
