PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Xiaoxiang Zhu

Xiaoxiang Zhu is an AI researcher in Earth observation whose machine-learning work turns satellite data into maps and geoinformation. She earned a doctorate at TUM in 2011, completed her postdoctoral teaching qualification in 2013, and joined its faculty in 2015. In 2017, she received an ERC Starting Grant for So2Sat and coauthored a review of deep learning in remote sensing; from 2018 to 2022, she led DLR’s Earth Observation Data Science department and its AI4EO Future Lab. She became an ELLIS Fellow in 2019 and an IEEE Fellow in 2021, then became a member of Academia Europaea in 2024; in 2025, she was Chair Professor at TUM and a principal investigator at MCML. TUM awarded her a Liesel-Beckmann Distinguished Professorship in 2026, and she now leads AI4EO and ML4Earth and directs the Munich Data Science Institute.

Now at
AI Future Lab AI4EO, ML4Earth, Munich Data Science Institute, TUM-DLR AI4EO Future Lab and Munich Center for Machine Learning
Born
1984
Works
1,176

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

  1. 2011–2017

    A TUM doctorate and So2Sat

    She earns a doctorate at TUM in 2011 and completes her postdoctoral teaching qualification in 2013. In 2015, she joins TUM as Professor of Signal Processing in Earth Observation through a joint appointment with the German Aerospace Center (DLR). In 2017, she receives an ERC Starting Grant for So2Sat, which combines satellite imagery and social-network data with machine learning to map cities and population density; she also coauthors a review of deep learning in remote sensing.

  2. 2018–2022

    Building AI4EO at DLR

    From 2018 to 2022, she serves as founding head of DLR’s Earth Observation Data Science department, where she builds expertise in AI for Earth Observation. In 2020, she leads the TUM-DLR AI4EO Future Lab, which applies AI to satellite data for work on global urbanization, food supply and natural hazards.

  3. 2019

    An ELLIS Fellowship

    In 2019, she becomes an ELLIS Fellow.

  4. 2021

    An IEEE Fellowship

    She becomes an IEEE Fellow in 2021 for contributions to artificial intelligence and data science in Earth observation and global urban mapping.

  5. 2024

    Academia Europaea membership

    She is elected a member of Academia Europaea in 2024.

  6. July 2025

    Satellite learning at MCML

    In July 2025, she is Chair Professor for Data Science in Earth Observation at TUM and a principal investigator at MCML; her machine-learning systems analyze petabytes of satellite imagery.

  7. 2026

    A TUM distinguished professorship

    In 2026, TUM awards her a Liesel-Beckmann Distinguished Professorship.

  8. As of October 2026

    Leading AI for Earth observation

    As of October 2026, she is Professor of Data Science in Earth Observation at TUM, leads the national center of excellence ML4Earth and the international AI Future Lab AI4EO, and directs the Munich Data Science Institute.

Career

  1. Since 2015Technical University of MunichProfessor
  2. NowAI Future Lab AI4EOLead
  3. NowML4EarthLead
  4. NowMunich Data Science InstituteDirector
  5. From 2025Munich Center for Machine LearningPrincipal Investigator
  6. 2020TUM-DLR AI4EO Future LabLead
  7. 2018–2022German Aerospace CenterFounding Head

Education

  1. 2011Technical University of MunichDoctorate

From the biography.

  1. People shaping AI who were born in China spent 54% of recorded working years there from 2018 onIncludes Xiaoxiang Zhu. We estimate that people shaping AI who were born in China spent 54% of recorded working years there in 2018–2026, up from 51% in 2008–2017.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Technical University of Munich. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Technical University of Munich. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Technical University of Munich. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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

  1. Prof. Xiaoxiang Zhu receives ‘Leopoldina Early Career Award 2018’ tum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Prof. Zhu received the ERC Starting Grant for the project So2Sat! asg.ed.tum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Zhu - Lehrstuhl für Data Science in Earth Observation asg.ed.tum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Zhu_Xiaoxiang professoren.tum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Artificial intelligence in earth observation dlr.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. IEEE Fellows - TUM tum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Academia Europaea - TUM tum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Tracking Our Changing Planet From Space - With Xiaoxiang Zhu mcml.ai. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. ELLIS Unit Madrid: Forging Interpretable and Causal AI for for Health, Environment, and Network Systems | European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems ellis.eu. Checked 20 October 2026.