Faculty Experts

Yanxiao Zhao, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Graduate Program Director | Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringVCU College of Engineering

Professor Zhao specializes in wireless networking, Internet of things and cyber security.

Intelligent Reflecting Surface Assisted SystemsMachine Learning and ApplicationsWireless Communication and NetworkingInternet of Things (IoT)

Michael H. Peters, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringVCU College of Engineering

Professor Peters conducts experimental and theoretical research in the field of protein engineering.

Peptidyl-Biomimetics Inhibitors for Breast Cancer TargetsOpenContact: A Simple Static Protein-Protein Mapping AlgorithmExtended Liouville Equation for Open SystemsNeuronal Stem Cell Delivery SystemsProtein Engineering

Xiwei Xuan, Ph.D.

Assistant ProfessorVCU College of Engineering

Research interests in computer vision, multimodal learning, efficient & reliable AI systems, and visual analytics

Artificial Intelligence & Machine LearningComputer VisionExplainable AIAI Model ValidationVisual Analytics

Syed Irfan Ali Meerza, Ph.D.

Assistant ProfessorVCU College of Engineering

Dr. Meerza’s research focuses on robust and trustworthy AI, including generative AI, multimodal learning, and data privacy.

Smart Healthcare and FitnessResponsible Content GovernanceRobust and Trustworthy AIAI Security and Privacy

Vitaliy Avrutin, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringVCU College of Engineering

Professor Avrutin specializes in the growth and characterization of oxide materials (ZnO, perovskite oxides)

III-Nitride expitaxial structures for light emitters and high-power devices including semipolar and nonpolar material on silicon and sapphire substrates

Reza Mohammadi, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear EngineeringVCU College of Engineering

Dr. Mohammadi studies advanced functional materials, including superhard, superhydrophobic, nuclear, energy, sensing, and metallic systems.

Ultra-incompressible superhard materialsSuperhydrophobic materialsThin film deposition and characterizationTearing energy of sheet metalsMetal forming and shaping