Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz (2009)
B.S. in Computer Science, Zhejiang University (2004)
Catherine Qi Zhao joined the Department of Computer Science & Engineering as an assistant professor in 2016 and was promoted to an associate professor in 2021. Zhao also serves as an IEEE member. Prior to her time at the University, she served as a postdoctoral researcher at California Institute of Technology from 2009-11 and as an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore from 2011-16. Zhao received a Chancellor’s Fellowship in 2004 and a Mei Wang Graduate Fellowship in 2005 from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Zhao’s research is in the areas of artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, and AI for humans. In particular, her gorup provides theoretical foundations in computer vision, invents application-specific machine learning methods, and develops trustworthy systems that leverage both artificial and human intelligence. Our recent focus includes understanding neural networks, and innovating explainable and generalizable AI methods. We also emphasize the role of humans in AI and develop AI to benefit humans, especially those in need.
Research Division
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Current Research
Google Scholar
Visual Information Processing Lab
Ph.D. Graduates
Yan Luo (2022); Sthitie Bom (2022); Qiang Zhou (2017, National University of Singapore); Ming Jiang (2017, National University of Singapore); Chengyao Shen (2016, National University of Singapore); Weiquan Lu (2014, National University of Singapore).
Selected Grants
RI: Small: Visual How: Task Understanding and Description in the Real World
Zhao, C.; National Science Foundation; 6/15/22 - 5/31/25
EAGER: Interpretable and Generalizable AI for Smart Manufacturing
Zhao, C.; National Science Foundation; 8/15/22 - 7/31/24
RI: Small: Exploring Rationale behind Visual Understanding: Combining Attention and Reasoning
Zhao, C.; National Science Foundation; 8/1/19 - 7/31/23