Directory

Ding Zhao is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is also associated with the Computer Science Department, Robotics Institute, CyLab Security & Privacy Institute, and Scott Institute for Energy Innovation. He is a visiting researcher at Google Brain/Robotics. Leading the CMU Safe AI Laboratory, Zhao aims to create trustworthy AI that is robust, safe, generalizable as well as explainable, verifiable, and human-centric. His long-term goal is to develop fundamental theories and practical technologies to safely deploy AI to address some of the world's most pressing problems.

Zhao is recognized nationally and internationally for his research on trustworthy AI, with applications in intelligent autonomy and healthcare. He is the recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, George Tallman Ladd Research Award, MIT Technology Review 35 under 35 China Award, Ford University Collaboration Award, Carnegie-Bosch Research Award, Struminger Teaching Award, and industrial fellowship awards from Adobe, Bosch, and Toyota. He worked with leading industrial partners, including Google Brain, Amazon, Ford, Uber, IBM, Adobe, Bosch, Toyota, and Rolls-Royce.

Office
B10 Scaife Hall
Phone
412.268.1042
Email
dingzhao@cmu.edu
Google Scholar
Ding Zhao
Websites
Safe AI Lab website Opens in new window

USDOT 2022 Cybersecurity Forum

Making AI Safer for Autonomous Vehicles

Education

2016 Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan

2010 BS, Automotive Engineering, Jilin University

Media mentions


CyLab Security and Privacy Institute

CyLab researchers present at ACM CHI 2025

CyLab Security and Privacy Institute researchers will present nine papers and teach one course at the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025).

CMU

Zhao demonstrates autonomous vehicle research

MechE's Ding Zhao demonstrated a new project used to evaluate the safety of autonomous vehicles for vulnerable road users when U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited Mill 19.

bullitin

Zhao quoted on robot dogs

MechE's Ding Zhao was quoted in bullitin about why robot dogs are likely to see widespread use.

Mechanical Engineering

Experts gather at CMU to shape the future of automated vehicles

Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering hosted the 2024 IEEE Vehicle Validation Conference, welcoming experts and innovators from around the world.