Tianzhi He

Welcome!

About Me

I am an incoming Assistant Professor in the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Construction Management at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), under the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design. I recently earned my Ph.D. from the Charles Edward Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, where I was advised by Dr. Farrokh Jazizadeh at the Inform Lab.

In addition to my Ph.D., I am pursuing an M.S. in Computer Science at Virginia Tech, working with Dr. Yaxing Yao at the HOPSEC Lab, where I focus on the intersection of smart buildings and trustworthy AI agents.

My research explores how Ambient Intelligence (AmI) systems in smart environments can better serve human needs by integrating data-driven reasoning, physiological sensing, and intelligent interfaces. Specifically, I investigate:

• How AI agents can proactively and transparently interact with users to support well-being in the built environments;
• How wearable technologies can be used to infer human physiological and mental states in real time;
• How trust in human-AI interaction can be designed and evaluated in intelligent environments.

This work aims to improve human comfort, energy efficiency, and overall quality of life in smart buildings, while maintaining user autonomy and trust.

My broader interests span across Ambient Intelligence (AmI), Smart Homes, Conversational AI Agents, Wearable Sensors, Human-AI Trust, and Mixed Reality (VR/AR).

Before joining Virginia Tech, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management from Tongji University in Shanghai, China (2019).