Dr. Wei Zhao joined AUS as the Chief Research Officer in 2018, having previously been Rector (i.e., President) and Chair Professor at the University of Macau since 2008. Dr. Zhao served as the Dean of Science and Professor of Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 2007 to 2008; Division Director at the National Science Foundation from 2005 to 2007; and worked at Texas A&M University from 1990 to 2007 in many positions, including Senior Associate Vice President for Research from 2001 to 2007, Head of the Department of Computer Science from 1997 to 2001, and advanced from Associate to full Professor of Computer Science. He has also held faculty positions at Amherst College, Adelaide University and Shaanxi Normal University.

Dr. Zhao earned his PhD and MS degrees from University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1986 and 1983, respectively, and an undergraduate Diploma in Physics from Shaanxi Normal University in 1982. He is the recipient of 12 honorary doctoral degrees. Dr. Zhao is the author of several hundred publications and has more than 10,000 citations.