New safe AI and autonomy researcher joins the CfAA

Posted on Wednesday 27 August 2025

1. What are your specialisms within the safe AI and autonomy field?

I specialise in the through-life safety of AI and autonomy, with a focus on modelling and scheduling of complex, safety-critical systems. My research particularly addresses adaptive autonomous systems and mixed-criticality platforms, where I develop learning-based and mathematically rigorous methods that unify perception, learning, and action under uncertainty. This enables explainability, traceability, and safety assurance in high-integrity system-of-systems.

2. Can you tell us about your background before joining the CfAA?

I hold a PhD in Computer Science from the University of York and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Technische Universität Berlin. Before joining CfAA, I was a Research Fellow in the Real-Time and Distributed Systems (RTDS) Group at York, where I worked on high-performance heterogeneous scheduling frameworks for safety-critical embedded systems. Before my doctoral studies, I served as a research assistant and engineer at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where I focused on perception and planning for autonomous vehicles. I have also contributed to several industry-funded projects with partners such as Huawei and BAE Systems. These experiences shaped my research interests in safety-aware, resource-efficient autonomous systems.

3. What is your role at CfAA and what type of projects will you be working on? 

As a Research Fellow at CfAA, I work on advancing methods to assure the safety of AI-enabled autonomous systems across their entire lifecycle. My current projects include developing structural causal world models to formalise operational domains and designing adaptive scheduling techniques for heterogeneous platforms. The unifying goal of this work is to support robust, explainable, and safe decision-making in complex autonomous systems.

4. What are you most excited about in your role with us?

I am excited about advancing the foundations of safe autonomy by integrating causal world models, adaptive scheduling, and AI-assisted assurance frameworks. This role offers a unique opportunity to work across disciplinary boundaries, collaborate with industry, and translate theoretical advances into practical safety assurance methods that can impact future autonomous vehicles, aerospace, and robotics.

5. What are your interests and hobbies outside of work?

Outside of research, I enjoy playing the guqin (a traditional Chinese musical instrument), cooking, and exploring new places with my family.