Team
Principal Investigator
Prof. Junfeng Zhao
Dr. Junfeng Zhao is an assistant professor at Arizona State University, where he founded the Battery Electric & Intelligent Vehicle (BELIV) Lab. He is a graduate faculty member of the Robotics & Autonomous Systems (RAS) program and the Clean Energy Systems (CES) program. His research interests include connected and automated vehicles (CAV), CAV system integration and safety assessment, motion planning and controls, cooperative perception, AI/ML in automotive and robotics systems, electrified propulsion system controls, and intelligent transportation systems. Before joining the ASU Fulton Schools of Engineering and the Polytechnic School, Dr. Zhao worked as a senior researcher at General Motors R&D. Dr. Zhao has authored over 20 journal and conference papers and holds 15 patents. He received his doctoral degree from The Ohio State University in 2015, where he was an OSU Presidential Fellowship recipient. He also holds a master’s degree from the University of British Columbia (2009) and a bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University (2007).
Education
- Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, USA, 2015
- M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada, 2009
- B.S. Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, China, 2007
Ph.D. Students
Jingxiong Meng
(08/2022-Present)
Jingxiong Meng received his M.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2022, and his B.S. degree in Transportation from the South China University of Technology in 2020. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering at Arizona State University.
His research interests are focused on Machine Learning, Vehicle Localization, Cooperative Perception, and Connected and Automated Vehicles.
Hengcong Guo
(01/2023-Present)
Hengcong Guo received his M.S. degree in Communication and Transportation Engineering in 2021, and his B.S. degree in Automation in 2016, both from the South China University of Technology. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering at Arizona State University.
His research interests include Automated Vehicle Motion Planning, Deep-Reinforcement-Learning based Driving Behavior Modeling, and Operational Safety Testing for Automated Vehicles.
Steve Rundus (co-advise)
(8/2023-Present)
Steve Rundus has 25+ years of engineering experience in the aerospace and automotive industries. He received his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2004 and his M.S. degree in Automotive Engineering in 2002, both from Lawrence Technological University. He received his B.S.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1996 from LeTourneau University. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering at Arizona State University.
His research interests include Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV), Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV) and CAV operational safety metrics.
Haorao Ding
(01/2024-Present)
Haoran Ding completed his M.S. in Computer Engineering at New York University, Tandon, in 2021 and his B.S. in Math and Scientific Computation as well as Computer Science at the University of California, Davis, in 2019. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering at Arizona State University.
His research interests are focused on computer vision, including autonomous systems and human-computer interaction, as well as machine learning methods such as object detection and other deep neural networks.
Master Students
Pranav Ramesh Bidare
(08/2023-Present)
Pranav received his B.Tech degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from PES University, Bangalore, India in May 2023. He is pursuing his M.S degree in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (Electrical Engineering) at Arizona State University.
His research interests include Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Robotics, Computer Vision, Machine Learning and Perception.
Vishnu Ram Jawaharram
(11/2024-Present)
Vishnu Ram earned his B.Tech degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore, India, in 2024. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Computer Engineering with a focus on Electrical Engineering at Arizona State University.
His research interests include battery management systems, electric vehicles, vehicular electronics, and battery state estimations.
Dheeraj Reddy Pasham
(11/2024-Present)
Dheeraj Reddy Pasham received his B.Tech degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India, in 2024. He is currently pursuing his M.S. degree in Robotics and Autonomous Systems(Electrical Engineering) at Arizona State University.
His research interests include Digital Twin Technology, Battery Management Systems (BMS), Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), Machine Learning, and Deep Learning.
DeAndre San Agustin
(08/2024-Present)
DeAndre San Agustin received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University in May 2024. He is continuing his education at Arizona State pursuing a M.S. degree in Robotics and Autonomous Systems.
His research interests include Autonomous Vehicle Systems and Simulation, Robotics, Machine Learning, and Perception.
Anirudh Iyer
(01/2025-Present)
Anirudh received his B.Tech degree in Computer Science and Engineering from IIIT-Delhi, India in May 2024. He is pursuing his M.S degree in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (Systems Engineering) at Arizona State University.
His research interests include Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Computer Vision, Perception, and Planning.
Undergraduate Students
Lab Alumni
Mr. Nithish Kumar Saravanan, M.S. (Thesis) Fall 2024,
Mr. Pranav Rajesh, M.S. (Thesis) Fall 2024,
Mr. Sunder Swaminathan, M.S. (Thesis) Fall 2024,
Ms. Sobha Srujana Patri, M.S. (Project) Fall 2024,
Ms. Sudeeksha Chagarlamudi, M.S. (Project) Fall 2024, Co-Founder and Head of Product, Naware
Mr. Krithik Rajavelu, M.S. (Project) Fall 2024, Robotics Control Engineer, Persimmon Technologies Corporation
Mr. Dheeraj Kallakuri, M.S. (Project) Fall 2024, System Engineer, Caterpillar Inc.
Mr. Nathan Fahner, M.S. (Project) Fall 2024, Manufacturing Engineer, CNH Industrial
Mr. Shun-Yen Wang, M.S. (Thesis) Fall 2024, Project Engineer, TSMC
Mr. Jiangtao Li, M.S. (Project) Fall 2023, Project Engineer, BYD North America
Mr. Gavin O’Malley, M.S. (Thesis) Fall 2023, Safety Engineer