PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Ruigang Yang

Also known as 杨睿刚, Yang Ruigang

Ruigang Yang is a computer vision researcher whose work on 3D reconstruction led into autonomous driving. He earned a PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003, held an appointment at the University of Kentucky from 2003 to 2020, and received an NSF CAREER Award in 2005. As Baidu's chief scientist for 3D vision from 2016 to 2019, he coauthored the ApolloScape driving dataset and the AADS driving simulator, and he served as chief technology officer of Inceptio from 2020 to 2024. He was elected an IEEE Fellow in 2022. Since 2024, he is a distinguished professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Global Institute of Future Technology, working on AI, computer vision, robotics and autonomous driving.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 1998–2003

    Columbia and a UNC PhD

    He earns a master's degree in computer science at Columbia University in 1998. In 2003, he completes a PhD in computer science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

  2. 2003–2020

    Professor at Kentucky

    He holds a position in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Kentucky from 2003 to 2020, moving from assistant to associate to full professor.

  3. 2005

    An NSF CAREER Award

    While on the Kentucky faculty, he receives a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2005.

  4. 2014

    3D capture from vehicle video

    As an associate professor at Kentucky in 2014, he develops sensors and algorithms for 3D imaging, starting from telepresence applications for remote collaboration. His work then turns to real-time 3D images from vehicle-mounted video, with 3D street views and avatars made with a cellphone as applications.

  5. 2016–2019

    ApolloScape at Baidu

    From 2016 to 2019, he is chief scientist for 3D vision at Baidu and directs the Robotics and Autonomous Driving Laboratory at Baidu Research. In 2018, he coauthors the ApolloScape open driving dataset, which holds at least 15 times more images per task than existing datasets. In 2019, he coauthors AADS, a simulator that adds simulated traffic flow to scanned street scenes, and his Baidu work also includes an excavator that digs trenches on its own.

  6. 2020–2024

    CTO of Inceptio

    In February 2020, he joins Inceptio as chief technology officer and holds the post until 2024. A 2024 lecture of his covers the commercialization of autonomous driving on trucks.

  7. 2022

    Elected IEEE Fellow

    He is elected an IEEE Fellow in the class of 2022 for contributions to 3D vision and autonomous driving.

  8. Since 2024

    Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong

    In February 2024, he joins Shanghai Jiao Tong University as a distinguished professor at its Global Institute of Future Technology. His research covers AI, computer vision, robotics, autonomous driving and XR/VR.

Career

  1. Since 2024Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityDistinguished Professor
  2. 2020–2024InceptioChief Technology Officer
  3. 2016–2019BaiduChief Scientist for 3D Vision; Director of Robotics and Autonomous Driving Laboratory
  4. 2003–2020University of KentuckyAssistant, Associate, and Full Professor

Education

  1. 2003University of North Carolina at Chapel HillPhD in Computer Science
  2. 1998Columbia UniversityMaster's degree in Computer Science

From the biography.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Ruigang Yang. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.
  3. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Shanghai Jiao Tong University. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Ruigang Yang yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. GIFT (Global Institute of Future Technology) gift.sjtu.edu.cn. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. From Graphics, to Vision, to the Omnipresence of Deep Learning: Adapting to Making the Most Impact | 大學活動日曆 - 香港科技大學 calendar.hkust.edu.hk. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Capturing the World in Three Dimensions | UK Research research.uky.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. [1803.06184] The ApolloScape Open Dataset for Autonomous Driving and its Application arxiv.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. [1901.07849] AADS: Augmented Autonomous Driving Simulation using Data-driven Algorithms arxiv.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. GIFT (Global Institute of Future Technology) gift.sjtu.edu.cn. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. Former manager of Microsoft Research Asia said to lead Baidu auto team | Gasgoo autonews.gasgoo.com. Checked 22 October 2026.