Kai Zhao

Biography

I am a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Florida State University. I received Ph.D. in computer science from University of California, Riverside in 2022. Prior to that, I received B.S. in Computer Science from Peking University in 2014. During my Ph.D. studies, I worked as a student intern at Argonne National Laboratory. My research interests lie broadly in the area of high-performance computing and autonomous driving, with a special focus on reliability, efficiency, and data management.

There are available positions in my lab. Please refer to the last section of this page for more information.
FSU is among the top 30 universities in the United States in the field of HPC.

Research Interests

• High Performance Computing (HPC)
• Scientific Data Management, Analytics, and Visualization
• Fault Tolerance and Resilience in Machine Learning and HPC
• Large Scale Deep Neural Networks
• Parallel, Distributed and Heterogeneous Systems

Awards

• First Year Assistant Professor Award, Florida State University, 2024
• 2021 R&D 100 Award (SZ compression framework), 2021.
• Laxmi N. Bhuyan Fellowship, University of California, Riverside, 2021
• Dissertation Year Program Fellowship, University of California, Riverside, 2021.
• Dean's Distinguished Fellowship, University of California, Riverside, 2017.

Students

• Longtao Zhang (PhD, 2023-)
BE @ Hunan University, ICPC silver medalist
• Ruoyu Li (PhD, 2024-)
BA @ China University of Mining and Technology, MS @ University of Pittsburgh
• Ximiao Li (PhD, 2024-)
BS @ Sun Yat-Sen University, MS @ University of Michigan
• Zhuoxun Yang (MS, 2024-)
BS @ Peking University
• Nicholas Simmons (MS, 2024 Summer Intern)

Publications

• Please refer to my CV for up-to-date publications

Hiring

• I am hiring Ph.D. students for Spring 25 and Fall 25. If interested, please send me your CV and transcript.
• FSU is a top-tier research university with a world-class academic reputation. FSU is ranked 53rd in the US by U.S. News and 11th among public universities according to Niche. The university receives $200 million in research funding annually. Located near the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, FSU is surrounded by some of the best beaches and state park systems in the U.S. It is conveniently located near major cities including Atlanta and Orlando, making for an easy living and entertainment experience.
• Student Requirements: Applicants should have a background in computer science, electronics, mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, or related fields. No research experience is required, but candidates must be proficient in at least one programming language, have strong self-learning abilities, rigorous logical thinking, perseverance, and a strong interest in pursuing a Ph.D. TOEFL is required for international applicants and GRE is optional.