Biography

Full Name: Zhao Qi

Webpage: 863zq.github.io

Email: zhaoqi.zhao@connect.polyu.hk

ORCID: 0000-0002-8594-6940

Google Scholar: fwYXanQAAAAJ

Research Gate: Qi-Zhao-111

Postdoctoral Fellow (11/2024 – 12/2025)

City University of Hong Kong — Centre for Intelligent Multidimensional Data Analysis Limited

Academic

• Advisor: Prof. Hong Yan

• Large Language Models: Developed an AI tender-writing agent using LLMs to generate proposals based on bid package requirements. Expand expertise in LLMs to further develop and continuously optimize a smart tender-writing agent.

• Low Altitude Economy: Conducted research on Urban Air Mobility based on eVTOL, focusing on recent research development. Developed algorithms for end-to-end obstacle avoidance during eVTOL flight.

Doctor of Philosophy (09/2020 – 10/2024)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University — Department of Biomedical Engineering

Academic

• Major: Biomedical Engineering (GPA: 3.49/4.30)

• Advisor: Prof. Puxiang Lai

• Research: Wavefront shaping, Speckle imaging, Computational imaging, Deep learning

• Thesis: Understanding and manipulation of optical speckles

• Selected Publications:

  1. Optical imaging through spatiotemporally decorrelated speckles via GAN (Laser & Photonics Reviews 2025, DOI:10.1002/lpor.202401836)
  2. Direct classification through scattering media with limited information (Advanced Photonics Nexus 2025, DOI:10.1117/1.APN.4.5.056016)
  3. Delocalized information in optical speckles via learning-based study (Under revision, 2025)
  4. Deep-Tissue Optics Reviews (Chinese Journal of Lasers 2024, DOI: 10.3788/CJL231318)
  5. Speckle-based cryptosystem for face recognition via deep learning (Advanced Science 2022, DOI: 10.1002/advs.202202407)
  6. Parameter-free algorithm for iterative wavefront shaping (Optics Letters 2021, DOI: 10.1364/OL.427215)

Internship

• Student Ambassador - PolyU BME (06/2023 – 06/2023):

  Served as a Student Ambassador during Student Ambassador for Research Postgraduate Summer School 2023.

  Responsibilities included guiding the participants for visiting the campus, and introducing the facilities in labs and cutting-edge research conducted by faculty members of BME.

• Teaching Assistant - PolyU BME (02/2022 – 06/2022):

  Received the Best Teaching Assistant Award for exceptional contributions to the course “Biomedical Engineering Research and Design Studies II - Engineer for the Community”.

  Roles included grading examination papers, reviewing assignments, assisting in laboratory experiment instruction, and supporting students throughout the course.

Master of Science (09/2017 – 08/2020)

Tsinghua University — Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute

Academic

• Major: Data Science and Information Technology (GPA: 3.71/4.00)

• Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Xiang Qian, Prof. Xiaohao Wang, Prof. Zheng You, Prof. Liwei Lin (UC Berkeley)

• Research: Flexible sensors, Micro-electromechanical Systems

• Thesis: Research on the Flexible Humidity Sensors used for Indoor Humidity Control

Internship

• Intern engineer - OPPO Shenzhen (07/2018 - 08/2018):

  Completed an internship at OPPO, a leading Chinese electronics corporation specializing in smartphones, headquartered in Guangdong.

  Focused on enhancing the photography capabilities through the research of advanced deep learning-based image recognition and segmentation algorithms, contributing to high-quality products to global consumers.

• Intern engineer - He Ying Shenzhen (07/2018 - 07/2018):

  Engaged in an intern position at He Ying, a pioneering startup located in Shenzhen, known for its collaboration with JEEP to develop co-branded Android smartwatches.

  Played a crucial role in gathering and analyzing user experience feedback from pre-release smartwatch models, providing insightful recommendations to enhance product quality and user satisfaction.

• Student Union of Shenzhen International Graduate School (09/2017 - 10/2018):

  Operated the official WeChat account, published over 100 posts that collectively received more than 50,000 views.

  Served as the group leader for a four-student team to Chaozhou, Guangdong (22/07/2018 - 27/22/2018).

  Conducted comprehensive investigations into the local ceramics, electronics, and tea industries, resulting in highly praised assessments.

Bachelor of Engineering (09/2013 – 06/2017)

Northwestern Polytechnical University — Honors College & School of Electronics and Information

Academic

• Major: Electronic Information Engineering (GPA: 3.67/4.00)

• Advisor: Prof. Mingyi He

• Research: Image recognition, Deep learning

• Thesis: Handwritten Character Recognition with Deep Neural Networks and its GPU Implementation

• Awards: Outstanding Undergraduate at NWPU (06/2017)

• Contests: Meritorious Winner of Mathematical Contest In Modeling (01/2016)

Internship

• Student Union of Honors College (10/2013 - 12/2015):

  Operated the official WeChat and Weibo accounts, published over 300 posts that collectively received more than 100,000 views.

  Contributed to the welcoming ceremony for the new students (10/2018) by serving as one of the hosts.

Publications

First or co-first authored papers:

1. Extended Learning Robustness for High-Fidelity Human Face Imaging from Spatiotemporally Decorrelated Speckles

   Laser & Photonics Reviews 2025 (IF = 10.0) DOI: 10.1002/lpor.202401836

2. Speckle transformer: direct classification through scattering media with limited information

   Advanced Photonics Nexus 2025 (IF = 6.0) DOI: 10.1117/1.APN.4.5.056016

3. Delocalized information in optical speckles: a learning-based study

   Under revision 2025

4. Deep-Tissue Optics: Technological Development and Applications

   Chinese Journal of Lasers 2024 (IF = 2.57) DOI: 10.3788/CJL231318

5. DeepSLM: Speckle-Licensed Modulation via Deep Adversarial Learning for Authorized Optical Encryption and Decryption

   Advanced Intelligent Systems 2024 (IF = 6.8) DOI: 10.1002/aisy.202400150

6. Learning-based super-resolution interpolation for sub-Nyquist sampled laser speckles

   Photonics Research 2023 (IF = 7.3) DOI: 10.1364/PRJ.472512

7. Speckle-Based Optical Cryptosystem and its Application for Human Face Recognition via Deep Learning

   Advanced Science 2022 (IF = 15.1) DOI: 10.1002/advs.202202407

8. Optimal efficiency of focusing diffused light through scattering media with iterative wavefront shaping

   APL Photonics 2022 (IF = 5.6) DOI: 10.1063/5.0085943

9. Parameter-free optimization algorithm for iterative wavefront shaping

   Optics Letters 2021 (IF = 3.6) DOI: 10.1364/OL.427215

10. Speckle-based optical cryptosystem for encrypted face recognition

    Chinese Patent 2021 ZL202111273688.7

Non-first authored papers

1. Speckle-driven single-shot orbital angular momentum recognition with ultra-low sampling density

   Nature Communications 2025 (IF = 14.9) Preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6363105/v1

2. High-security learning-based optical encryption assisted by disordered metasurface

   Nature Communications 2024 (IF = 14.9) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46946-w

3. Wavefront shaping: A versatile tool to conquer multiple scattering in multidisciplinary fields

   The Innovation 2022 (IF = 23.6) DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2022.100292

4. Accelerating deep learning with high energy efficiency: From microchip to physical systems

   The Innovation 2022 (IF = 23.6) DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2022.100252

5. Long-distance pattern projection through an unfixed multimode fiber with natural evolution strategy-based wavefront shaping

   Optics Express 2022 (IF = 3.8) DOI: 10.1364/OE.462275

6. Dynamic mutation enhanced particle swarm optimization for optical wavefront shaping

   Optics Express 2022 (IF = 3.8) DOI: 10.1364/OE.425615

Academic Conferences

1. Learning-based study on spatially dispersed information in optical speckles

   The WACBE World Congress on Bioengineering 2024, Hong Kong, China (Poster)

2. Delocalized information in optical speckles and its learning-based demonstration

   The Advanced Photonics Forum 2024, Shenzhen, China (Poster)

3. Learning-based study on spatially dispersed imaging from optical speckles

   Visable Light Communication and Optical Computing 2023, Shenzhen, China (Poster)

4. Spatially dispersed information retrieved from optical speckles: a learning-based study

   PhotoniX Forum 2023, Hangzhou, China (Poster)

5. Speckle-based Optical Cryptosystem for Face Recognition

   SPIE Photonics West 2023, San Francisco, USA (Oral) DOI: 10.1117/12.2645932

6. Encrypting face recognition with optical speckles

   IEEE TENCON 2022, Hong Kong, China (Oral) DOI: 10.1109/TENCON55691.2022.9977544

7. Integration of genetic and bat algorithms towards a parameter-free optimization scheme in iterative wavefront shaping

   SPIE Photonics Asia 2021, Online, China (Oral) DOI: 10.1117/12.2601210

8. Innovative heuristic algorithm in wavefront shaping - parameter-free algorithm

   International Conference on Biomedical Health Informatics 2021, Online, Korea (Oral)

9. Flexible humidity sensor based on electrochemically polymerized polypyrrole

   IEEE Sensors 2019, Montreal, Canada (Poster)) DOI: 10.1109/SENSORS43011.2019.8956740

Academic Posts

1. Guest Editor - MDPI Electronics - Special Issues - Advances in Cryptography and Image Encryption

2. Reviewer - Optics and Laser Technology

3. Reviewer - Reviewer – Optics Letters

4. Reviewer - MDPI Medicine in novel technology and devices

5. Reviewer - MDPI Electronics

6. Reviewer - MDPI Computer Science & Engineering

7. Reviewer - MDPI Journal of imaging

8. Reviewer - MDPI Fractal and fractional

9. Reviewer - MDPI Applied sciences

Miscellaneous Information

• Languages: English (Fluent); Mandarin (Native); Cantonese (Basic)

• Programming: Python; MATLAB; C language; Shell-Linux

• Deep learning frameworks: PyTorch, PyTorch Lightning

• LLM frameworks: Dify, LongChain

• Other skills: MS Office; Video Clipping; Driving

• Hobbies: Hiking, Photography