Contact Information
Email: jianzhao@uwaterloo.ca
Phone: 519-888-4567 x32987
Associate Professor | Cheriton School of Computer Science, Faculty of Math
Dr. Jian Zhao is an Associate Professor in the Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, where he directs the WVisdom research lab. His research lies in the intersection of information visualization, human-computer interaction, data science, and human-centered AI. His research aims to boost the efficiency of human-data interaction with exploratory and explanatory interfaces that tightly integrate the flexibility and creativity of users with the scalability of algorithms and machine learning.
Dr. Zhao received his Ph.D. from the Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto. He is the recipient of many best paper or honourable mention paper awards at top-tier venues (e.g., IEEE VIS, ACM CHI, and MobileHCI). More information can be found on his website: www.jeffjianzhao.com.
Selected Publications:
- Xinyu Shi, Li-Yi Wei, Nanxuan Zhao, Jian Zhao, Rubaiat Habib Kazi. Notational Animating: An Interactive Approach to Creating and Editing Animation Keyframes. Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 814:1-814:27,2026. (Best Paper Honorable Mention)
- Ryan Yen, Jian Zhao, Daniel Vogel. Code Shaping: Iterative Code Editing with Free-form AI-Interpreted Sketching. Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 872:1-872:17, 2025. (Best Paper)
- Xuejun Du, Pengcheng An, Justin Leung, April Li, Linda Chapman, Jian Zhao. DeepThInk: Designing and Probing Human-AI Co-Creation in Digital Art Therapy. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 181, pp. 103139:1-103139:17, 2024. (Best Research Paper)