Cheng Zhang

Cheng Zhang is an Associate Professor (with Tenure) in Information Science and a Field Member in Computer Science at Cornell University. He directs the Smart Computer Interfaces for Future Interaction (SciFi) Lab, focusing on integrating human-centered AI with advanced sensing technologies to empower everyday wearables.

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology (2020)
• M.S. in Software Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• B.S. in Software Engineering, Nankai University

His research examines how to solicit information on and around the human body to address real-world challenges in interaction, health sensing, and activity recognition. He builds novel sensing systems spanning hardware prototypes, algorithm design (machine learning and physics-based modeling), and high-impact applications in accessibility and health.

Article Trends: His recent work includes low-power, minimally intrusive wearables (e.g., EchoForce for muscle activity tracking, Ring-a-Pose for hand poses, SeamFit for smart clothing) using acoustic sensing and machine learning. The 15 most recent articles span 2025–2023, with applications in silent speech, authentication, and pose estimation.

Scientific Awards:

• NSF CAREER Award
• Ubicomp 10-Year Impact Award
• Best Paper Honorable Mentions at ISWC’24 and ISWC’23

Advising: Mentored Ph.D. students like Ruidong Zhang (Qualcomm Fellowship recipient) and Ke Li, with research featured in Cornell Chronicle and IEEE Spectrum.