Zhizhuo Yang
Neural Adaptive Computing (NAC) Lab. Department of Computer Science.

I’m Zhizhuo Yang (杨智卓 in Chinese), also known as George, currently working as an AI Research Scientist at Writer. My research focuses on advancing large language model post-training techniques, developing intelligent AI agents, and exploring cutting-edge topics in generative artificial intelligence.
I earned my Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where I specialized in active inference and continual reinforcement learning under the guidance of Dr. Alexander G. Ororbia II and Dr. Reynold Bailey. My doctoral research encompassed deep learning-based eye tracking systems and generative modeling of coordinated eye and head movements. I also maintain active research interests in computer vision and computer graphics, areas that complement my core expertise in AI and machine learning.
I absolutely love playing and
, immersing myself in music, exploring new places through travel, and conquering trails while hiking in my free time. I mastered
at a young age and am currently excitedly learning to play
!
news
Feb 3, 2025 | Today, I started my first full-time job as an AI researcher at Writer! I’ll be working on LLMs post-training, AI agents, and many more exciting topics in the generative AI field. 🚀 |
---|---|
Jan 27, 2025 | Super exited to announce that our paper SR-AIF: Solving Sparse-Reward Robotic Tasks from Pixels with Active Inference and World Models has been accepted at ICRA 2025! 🎉 |
Dec 16, 2024 | Thrilled to announce that I successfully defended my PhD dissertation today and officially became Dr. Yang! 🎓✨ |
Sep 11, 2023 | Today, I started my part-time work as a student researcher at Meta. I’ll continue my work on AI/ML project since summer. 🧐 |
Apr 25, 2023 | Today, I passed my dissertation proposal defense and become a PhD candidate officially! 😃 It may feel trivial for some people, but it’s quite a milestone for me. One of the greatest minds once said “don’t forget to celebrate the small wins”. So I did by doing an intense workout in the gym that’s long overdue! This is the way.😎 |
latest posts
No posts so far...
selected publications
- R-AIF: Solving sparse-reward robotic tasks from pixels with active inference and world modelsarXiv preprint arXiv:2409.14216, 2024
- A Neural Active Inference Model of Perceptual-Motor LearningFrontiers in Computational Neuroscience, 2023
- RIT-Eyes: Rendering of near-eye images for eye-tracking applicationsIn ACM Symposium on Applied Perception 2020, 2020
- Gaze-in-wild: A dataset for studying eye and head coordination in everyday activitiesScientific reports, 2020