SC Connecticut News

Lin Zhong, an experimental computer scientist known for his pioneering work in computer systems, has been appointed as the inaugural Joseph C. Tsai Professor of Computer Science at Yale University. This appointment is effective immediately.

Zhong joined the faculty of the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS) in 2020, after serving as a professor at Rice University. At Yale, he quickly established collaborations with departments such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Applied Physics. He leads efforts in two university priority areas: artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.

In AI, Zhong heads a group within the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded AI Institute for Edge Computing. The group focuses on empowering devices with limited resources to securely access AI functions from large models. Additionally, he leads the NSF-funded PARAGON project aimed at developing a control system for programming and debugging quantum computers with hundreds of qubits.

His contributions to quantum computing have been recognized with a best paper award from IEEE Quantum Computing & Engineering for developing a fast and large quantum error code decoder—a critical component for fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Beyond these fields, Zhong continues his work in mobile networks and operating systems. Collaborating with former students, he has made significant contributions to mobile computing by delivering high-performance, energy-efficient systems. His achievements include defining tradeoffs in mobile system design and performing extensive studies on mobile users' behavior.

Zhong's innovations in massive MIMO technology have been acknowledged by an ACM SigMobile Test of Time award and serve as the technical foundation for Skylark Wireless—a company co-founded by one of his former Ph.D. students.

He was named an IEEE Fellow in 2019 for his development of energy-efficient driver circuits for organic light-emitting diodes and became an ACM Fellow in 2021 for his overall work in mobile and network systems.

Within Yale's computer science department, Zhong has worked to expand graduate admissions to match faculty growth while establishing awards and mentoring mechanisms for graduate students. He currently serves as Director of Graduate Studies.

Zhong holds a B.S. and M.S. in electronic engineering from Tsinghua University and earned his Ph.D. in computer engineering from Princeton University.