Junfeng Jiao

Junfeng Jiao is an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in Smart City, Urban Informatics, and Ethical AI. Dr. Jiao is a senior Fulbright Specialist on Smart City for the Fulbright Program and has received recognition for his contributions to the field. He is the founding director of Urban Information Lab, Texas Smart Cities, and the UT NSF Ethical AI Program. He is also a founding member and past chair of Good Systems, a University of Texas initiative focused on creating AI and machine learning systems.

Academic Background
Dr. Jiao holds a Ph.D. in Urban Planning, an M.S. in Transportation Engineering, both from the University of Washington, an M.S. in Geographic Information System from University of Twente, an M.E. in Architectural Design, and a B.E. in Urban Planning, both from Wuhan University.

Career and Research
Junfeng Jiao's research endeavors are focused on Smart City development, Urban Informatics, and Ethical AI. He has significantly contributed to the development of smart city and urban informatics disciplines. Dr Jiao is known for his works in "shared mobility" and " "transit desert". He has researched the spatial-temporal patterns of various shared economy activities in major U.S. cities. His research has been reported by media outlets including ABC, CNN, Fox, and the New York Times among others.

Projects
Currently, Dr. Jiao is leading four substantial Smart City projects aimed at enhancing urban mobility, ethical roboticist training, and smart city knowledge systems. Dr. Jiao has led and participated in numerous projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), focusing on smart cities, ethical AI, and urban mobility. Some notable projects include:


 * Dr. Jiao serves as the NRT program director at The University of Texas at Austin, where he has been involved in the project "Designing Smart, Sustainable Cities Through Ethical AI".


 * He worked on "NRT-AI: Convergent, Responsible, and Ethical AI", exploring artificial intelligence and smart city ethics under NSF Award #2125858.


 * In collaboration with the University of Houston, Dr. Jiao is a Co-Principal Investigator on the project "NSF Convergence Accelerator Track J" under NSF Award #2236305, aimed at harnessing AI to tackle food deserts.


 * Dr. Jiao contributed to the "SCC-CIVIC-PG Track A: Community Hub for Smart Mobility" project under NSF Award #2043060, which focused on smart mobility solutions in urban settings.


 * He also engaged in the "SCC-PG: ECET: Empowering Community Engagement with Technology" project under NSF Award #1952193, exploring the spatial distribution of air pollutants and COVID-19 death rate.

In addition, his work has also won federal funding from the City of Austin, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as funding from MITRE Corporation, Dell, Microsoft, Google and others.

Publications
Dr. Jiao has authored more than 110 peer-reviewed publications, including significant papers on urban mobility, transit deserts, and the impact of shared mobility on urban landscapes. He has also written books on Shared Mobility and Smart Cities.

Honors and recognition
Dr. Jiao has received national and international recognition for his research contributions, including being selected as a Fulbright Specialist by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.