{"id":55098,"date":"2026-04-01T14:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/?post_type=news&p=55098"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:36:16","slug":"alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Spotlight: Xilei Zhao, Engr \u201917 (MSE, PhD)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xilei completed both her master\u2019s degree in applied mathematics and statistics and her PhD in civil engineering in 2017. Now an associate professor and director of AI initiatives in the University of Florida’s Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment, we caught up with her to learn about her career path and how her education at Johns Hopkins has helped her along the way.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is your current position?<\/h4>\n

Associate Professor and Director of AI Initiatives in the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment (ESSIE) at the University of Florida.<\/p>\n

What are the biggest challenges you face professionally?<\/h4>\n

A key challenge I navigate is the diversity of students\u2019 goals and strengths. Each student requires a mentoring approach uniquely tailored to their background, motivations, and pace. Striking the right balance between individualized support and the broader goals of the lab is both demanding and deeply rewarding.<\/p>\n

Why did you pursue this career path? What motivated and attracted you to it?<\/h4>\n

I\u2019ve always been motivated by the desire to take on complex problems and find solutions that improve people\u2019s lives. Academia attracted me because it offers the freedom to explore bold ideas and innovate continuously. As a professor, I can pursue impactful research while also mentoring students, which makes the work intellectually rewarding and personally meaningful.<\/p>\n

What attributes, skills, or knowledge are needed to be successful in your field?<\/h4>\n

Having a can-do attitude and perseverance, and being hardworking.<\/p>\n

What are the biggest challenges in your field \u2013 not just for you, but for all leaders in this area?<\/h4>\n

One of the biggest challenges in our field is the rapid evolution of AI. It is transforming every aspect of how we conduct research, analyze data, and make decisions in our field. Leaders in this area must be proactive in understanding and leveraging AI\u2019s full potential to reinvent our field rather than reacting passively to change.<\/p>\n

Describe a significant professional accomplishment that makes you proud.<\/h4>\n

One accomplishment I\u2019m especially proud of is being awarded the NSF CAREER award. Beyond the recognition, it has empowered me to advance ambitious research on trustworthy AI for disaster management\u2014work that I believe can meaningfully improve community resilience and emergency response.<\/p>\n

What role has your educational background played in your success?<\/h4>\n

The combined training I received in systems engineering in the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering (CaSE) and statistical modeling in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics (AMS) gave me the interdisciplinary skill set needed to advance novel AI methods for solving complex problems in transportation and resilience.<\/p>\n

We would love to hear about any noteworthy professors or pivotal experiences you had at the Whiting School.<\/h4>\n

I am deeply grateful to my advisors at JHU, Dr. Judith Mitrani-Reiser from CaSE and Dr. James Spall from AMS, whose unwavering support and mentorship inspired my path toward a career in academia.<\/p>\n

What advice would you offer students preparing for a career in your field?<\/h4>\n

Focus on strengthening your AI skills while simultaneously building your domain knowledge. The field needs more domain experts who understand how to leverage AI to solve real-world problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-55098","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news_categories-alumni-spotlight"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlumni Spotlight: Xilei Zhao, Engr \u201917 (MSE, PhD) - Department of Civil & Systems Engineering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alumni Spotlight: Xilei Zhao, Engr \u201917 (MSE, PhD) - Department of Civil & Systems Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Xilei completed both her master\u2019s degree in applied mathematics and statistics and her PhD in civil engineering in 2017. Now an associate professor and director of AI initiatives in the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Department of Civil & Systems Engineering\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alumni Spotlight: Xilei Zhao, Engr \u201917 (MSE, PhD) - Department of Civil & Systems Engineering","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alumni Spotlight: Xilei Zhao, Engr \u201917 (MSE, PhD) - Department of Civil & Systems Engineering","og_description":"Xilei completed both her master\u2019s degree in applied mathematics and statistics and her PhD in civil engineering in 2017. Now an associate professor and director of AI initiatives in the…","og_url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/","og_site_name":"Department of Civil & Systems Engineering","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/","name":"Alumni Spotlight: Xilei Zhao, Engr \u201917 (MSE, PhD) - Department of Civil & Systems Engineering","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-01T18:36:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/alumni-spotlight-xilei-zhao\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Alumni Spotlight: Xilei Zhao, Engr \u201917 (MSE, PhD)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/#website","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/","name":"Department of Civil & Systems Engineering","description":"Department of Civil & Systems Engineering","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Department of Civil & Systems Engineering","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/55098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}