CSE alum Xinyu Zhang selected as recipient of ACM SIGMOBILE RockStar Award

Xinyu Zhang (PhD CSE 2012) has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 ACM SIGMOBILE RockStar Award in recognition of his exceptional research achievements in mobile computing. Zhang was selected specifically for his contributions in the area of wireless networking and sensing. 

Zhang’s research on these topics began during his time at U-M, where he studied under faculty advisor Kevin and Nancy O’Connor Professor of Computer Science Kang G. Shin. Zhang’s doctoral research focused on redesigning wireless networks based on software radios to enhance performance and programmability.

Zhang is currently an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at University of California San Diego, where he continues his scholarship on next-generation wireless network and sensing architectures using state-of-the-art experimental platforms and machine learning techniques. 

The ACM SIGMOBILE RockStar Award recognizes one recipient annually who has made extraordinary contributions in mobile computing research or product development, particularly during the early part of their career. Zhang’s achievements involving millimeter-wave network systems and novel sensing modalities based on advanced computational models are what have solidified his reputation as a leader in the field and attracted the attention of the award committee.