麻豆传媒

I am a Senior Lecturer in Data Science at the School of Computing. Prior to joining 麻豆传媒, I held several academic and research posts at East Anglia, Manchester Met, Cardiff and Loughborough Universities. My research is on the development and applications of AI, machine learning, optimisation and control technologies for a wide spectrum of problems across healthcare, energy, building, and water industries. I obtained a PhD in Intelligent Systems and Control from Queen's University Belfast.

My current research focuses on operational intelligence that draws actionable insights from data and delivers real-time decision making across sectors. This primarily involves the development and applications of AI, machine learning, and control technologies for areas including smart grid & building, water management, and digital healthcare.

I have worked on a portfolio of large-scale, cross-disciplinary projects including:

• Personalising Running Cost Forecasts in Heat Pump Transitions Through AI, EPSRC NNZA, £30K, 2026, PI
• Patient-centric blood sampling for improved healthcare (COMFORT), Horizon Europe, €350K/€7M, 2024-2028, PI
• Actionable deep learning under uncertainty for carbon-centric building operations, EPSRC, PhD studentship, 2023-2027, PI
• Hybrid modelling and secure networked control for energy management of microgrid systems, Royal Society, £12K, 2021-2024, PI
• Spearheading a revolution in energy market design (REMeDY), Innovate UK, £330K/£4.8M, 2020-2022, PI
• Inflammatory drivers of long-term comorbidity trajectories: an AI investigation of multimorbidity (inflAIM), NIHR, £110K, 2021, CoI
• Smart cluster energy system for the fish processing industry (piSCES), EU INTERREG, 2018, Postdoc
• Resilience to earthquake-induced landslide risk in China (REACH), NERC, 2016-2018, Postdoc
• Water analytics and intelligent sensing for demand optimised management (WISDOM), EU FP7, 2014-2017, Postdoc
• Towards more autonomy for unmanned vehicles: situational awareness and decision making under uncertainty, EPSRC, 2013-2014, Postdoc

My work has appeared in many prestigious journals such as Proceedings of the Royal Society A, IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems, and IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems.

I am currently the lead supervisor of 6 PhD students whose research spans reinforcement learning, generative AI, and uncertainty modelling, tackling pressing challenges to enhance the efficiency and robustness of critical infrastructure, including healthcare, energy and water systems.

I would welcome self-motivated students to pursue a PhD in above topics with their own sources of funding. Please get in touch and send me your research proposal, CV and transcripts if you are interested in applying. Alternatively, feel free to email me to discuss other sources of funding.

CSC8645: Advanced AI, 2024-2026

CSC8635: Machine Learning with Project, 2023-2026

CSC8111: Machine Learning, 2023-2026

CSC8630: Machine Learning with Project, 2023-2025

CSC8633: Group Project in Data Science, 2022-2024

CSC8634: Cloud Computing with Project, 2022-2024

• Articles

  • Song Y, Liu Y, Zhao W. . IEEE Access 2026, 14, 5277-5287.
  • Chen Z, Rezgui Y, Zhang R, Zhang X, Zhao W, Li Y. . Building and Environment 2025, 285(Part A), 113527.
  • Yao F, Zhao W, Forshaw M, Zhou W. . Knowledge-based systems 2025, 325, 113844.
  • Yao F, Zhao W, Forshaw M, Song Y. . Applied Soft Computing 2025, 177, 113221.
  • Yao F, Zhao W, Forshaw M, Song Y. . Neurocomputing 2025, 654, 131375.
  • Gao W, Song Y, Liu Y, Zhao W. . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part I: Journal of Systems and Control Engineering 2024, 238(8), 1505-1517.
  • Chen Z, Zhang W, Zhao W, Yang X, Zhang X, Li Y. . Energy and Buildings 2024, 325, 115007.
  • Song Y, Liu Y, Zhao W. . IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica 2024, 11(10), 2185 - 2187.
  • Saddiqi MM, Zhao W, Cotterill S, Dereli RK. . WIREs Water 2023, 10(3), e1635.
  • Bahramian M, Dereli RK, Zhao W, Giberti M, Casey E. . Expert Systems With Applications 2023, 217, 119453.
  • Song Y, Du M, Zhao W, Lin H. . Journal of Energy Storage 2023, 63, 107111.
  • Cere G, Rezgui Y, Zhao W, Petri I. . Journal of Building Engineering 2022, 54, 104620.
  • Yao F, Zhou W, Ghamdi MA, Song Y, Zhao W. . Energy Reports 2022, 8(Supplement 13), 98-107.
  • Cere G, Rezgui Y, Zhao W, Petri I. . Structures 2022, 45, 1516-1529.
  • Cere G, Rezgui Y, Zhao W. . International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 2019, 36, 101079.
  • Zhao W, Beach TH, Rezgui Y. . IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems 2019, 49(6), 1254-1269.
  • Zhao W, Beach TH, Rezgui Y. . Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 2018, 474(2217), 20170879.
  • Zhao W, Beach TH, Rezgui Y. . Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 2017, 473(2198), 20160775.
  • Cerѐ G, Rezgui Y, Zhao W. . International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 2017, 25, 173-189.
  • Zhao W, Beach TH, Rezgui Y. . IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems 2016, 46(5), 659-681.
  • Zhao W, Meng Q, Chung PWH. . IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics 2016, 46(4), 902-915.
  • Zhao W, Zhang J, Li K. . IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems 2015, 23(3), 627-643.
  • Zhao W, Li K, Irwin GW. . IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems 2013, 21(1), 30-44.
  • Zhao W, Niu Q, Li K, Irwin GW. . IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics 2013, 43(6), 1807-1821.
  • Pizzileo B, Li K, Irwin GW, Zhao W. . IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems 2012, 20(6), 1076-1089.
  • Fei MR, Zhao WQ, Yang TC, Yang S. . Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control 2010, 32(3), 319-330.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Yao F, Zhao W, Forshaw M. . In: 2024 9th International Conference on Renewable Energy and Conservation (ICREC 2024). 2024, Rome, Italy: Springer.
  • Borujeni MS, Zhao W. . In: 13th UKACC International Conference on Control (CONTROL 2022). 2022, Plymouth, UK: IEEE.
  • Cere G, Zhao W, Rezgui Y. . In: Collaborative Networks of Cognitive Systems: 19th IFIP WG 5.5 Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises, PRO-VE 2018. 2018, Cardiff: Springer New York LLC.
  • Cere G, Zhao W, Rezgui Y, Parker R, Hales T, MacGillivray BH, Gong Y. . In: 2017 International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation: Engineering, Technology and Innovation Management Beyond 2020: New Challenges, New Approaches, ICE/ITMC 2017 - Proceedings. 2018, Madeira: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
  • Cere G, Rezgui Y, Zhao W. . In: eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction - Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Product and Process Modelling, ECPPM 2018. 2018, Copenhagen: CRC Press/Balkema.
  • Beach T, Howell S, Terlet J, Zhao W, Rezgui Y. . In: Collaborative Networks of Cognitive Systems: 19th IFIP WG 5.5 Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises (PRO-VE 2018). 2018, Cardiff, UK: Springer New York LLC.
  • Du D, Shang L, Zhao W. . In: Computational Intelligence, Networked Systems and Their Applications: International Conference on Life System Modeling and Simulation, LSMS 2014 and International Conference on Intelligent Computing for Sustainable Energy and Environment, ICSEE 2014. 2014, Shanghai: Springer Verlag.
  • Zhang J, Li K, Zhao W, Fei M, Wang Y. . In: International Conference on Life System Modeling and Simulation, LSMS 2014 and International Conference on Intelligent Computing for Sustainable Energy and Environment, ICSEE 2014. 2014, Shanghai: Springer Verlag.
  • Zhang J, Li K, Irwin GW, Zhao W. . In: Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on Intelligent Control and Automation (WCICA). 2012, Beijing, China: IEEE.
  • Zhao W, Li K, Irwin GW, Niu Q. . In: International Conference on Fuzzy Computation Theory and Applications (FCTA 2011). 2011, Paris, France: SciTePress.
  • Zhao W, Li K, Irwin GW, Fei M. . In: Advanced Intelligent Computing Theories and Applications: 6th International Conference on Intelligent Computing (ICIC 2010). 2010, Changsha, China: Springer.
  • Yang A, Niu Q, Zhao W, Li K, Irwin GW. . In: Life System Modeling and Intelligent Computing: International Conference on Life System Modeling and Simulation (LSMS 2010) and International Conference on Intelligent Computing for Sustainable Energy and Environment (ICSEE 2010). 2010, Wuxi, China: Springer.
  • Wei L, Fei M, Zhao W. . In: IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation (ICIA 2008). 2008, Changsha, China: IEEE.

• Review

  • Ahmadzadeh S, Parr G, Zhao W. . IEEE Access 2021, 9, 77555-77571.