UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li.
UW ECE and Physics Professor Kai-Mei Fu has been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Fu received this honor for contributions to fundamental and applied research on the optical and spin properties of quantum point defects in crystals, and for quantum community leadership.
Learn about the impact and importance of research at the UW College of Engineering, including work by UW ECE assistant professors Jungwon Choi (left) and Kim Ingraham (right).
UW ECE doctoral students and Fellowship recipients Marziyeh Rezaei (left) and Pengyu Zeng (right) are conducting research aimed at enabling scalable, power-efficient optical links for the next generation of edge-cloud data centers supporting 6G infrastructure.
UW ECE offers our congratulations to the graduating Class of 2025. We wish you all the best for the future!
Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE ‘25) and Devan Perkash (BSECE ‘25) will speak at this year’s Graduation Ceremony, which will take place in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Wednesday, June 11, from 7 to 9 p.m.
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li.
UW ECE and Physics Professor Kai-Mei Fu has been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Fu received this honor for contributions to fundamental and applied research on the optical and spin properties of quantum point defects in crystals, and for quantum community leadership.
Learn about the impact and importance of research at the UW College of Engineering, including work by UW ECE assistant professors Jungwon Choi (left) and Kim Ingraham (right).
UW ECE doctoral students and Fellowship recipients Marziyeh Rezaei (left) and Pengyu Zeng (right) are conducting research aimed at enabling scalable, power-efficient optical links for the next generation of edge-cloud data centers supporting 6G infrastructure.
UW ECE offers our congratulations to the graduating Class of 2025. We wish you all the best for the future!
Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE ‘25) and Devan Perkash (BSECE ‘25) will speak at this year’s Graduation Ceremony, which will take place in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Wednesday, June 11, from 7 to 9 p.m.
922uweeViewNews Object
(
[_rendered:protected] => 1
[_classes:protected] => Array
(
[0] => view-block
[1] => block--spotlight-robust-news
)
[_finalHTML:protected] => https://hedy.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/bingzhao-li-2025-activate-fellowship/Bingzhao Li receives Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li.
Professor Kai-Mei Fu elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
UW ECE and Physics Professor Kai-Mei Fu has been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Fu received this honor for contributions to fundamental and applied research on the optical and spin properties of quantum point defects in crystals, and for quantum community leadership.
Engineering research matters
Learn about the impact and importance of research at the UW College of Engineering, including work by UW ECE assistant professors Jungwon Choi (left) and Kim Ingraham (right).
UW ECE graduate students receive Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship
UW ECE doctoral students and Fellowship recipients Marziyeh Rezaei (left) and Pengyu Zeng (right) are conducting research aimed at enabling scalable, power-efficient optical links for the next generation of edge-cloud data centers supporting 6G infrastructure.
Congratulations, Class of 2025!
UW ECE offers our congratulations to the graduating Class of 2025. We wish you all the best for the future!
UW ECE Graduation will feature two student speakers
Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE ‘25) and Devan Perkash (BSECE ‘25) will speak at this year’s Graduation Ceremony, which will take place in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Wednesday, June 11, from 7 to 9 p.m.
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li. Shown above: Bingzhao holds the LiDAR system microchip he and Professor Li engineered in the lab. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, is a remote sensing technology used for creating high-resolution 3D maps and models of the environment. It has many uses and can provide valuable information beyond what can be seen with a conventional camera. For example, self-driving cars can use LiDAR to detect pedestrians and other obstacles in their path that are difficult to see; LiDAR enables robots to perceive their surroundings, navigate complex spaces, and interact with objects; and LiDAR is useful for mapping complex terrain by those in forestry, mining, archaeology, construction, traffic control, and urban planning.
But current LiDAR systems rely on bulky mechanical components that prevent widespread adoption in compact applications. While LiDAR technology delivers superior accuracy and reliability for 3D perception, existing systems are too large, heavy, and expensive for smaller devices that need to be mobile and versatile.
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has been working on this issue with UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li (no family relation) since 2020, when the pair first came up with an idea for improving LiDAR systems during the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Li is also a member of the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems, and a member of QuantumX at the UW, which pioneers development of quantum-enabled technology.
“The idea started during the COVID-19 lockdown, when we did not have access to our lab,” Bingzhao said. “During a meeting on Zoom, Professor Li and I first conceived the idea with a simple sketch on paper, and as soon as our lab reopened, we quickly turned it into a significant research result. Now, we want to turn it into a product.”
[caption id="attachment_38428" align="alignleft" width="400"]
Bingzhao Li is a research scientist in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems as well as a co-founder and chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics. Photo courtesy of Bingzhao Li[/caption]
Bingzhao has been learning from and working with Professor Li for a long time — first as an undergraduate student in an electromagnetics course taught by Professor Li, then later, as a graduate student in Professor Li’s research group. After receiving his doctoral degree from UW ECE, Bingzhao continued to work with Professor Li as a postdoctoral research fellow. Today, Bingzhao is a research scientist in Professor Li’s UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, where he investigates integrated photonic devices, optoelectronic materials, and quantum photonics.
Over the last five years, and working alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin, Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed new technology for LiDAR systems that is much more compact and affordable than what is currently available in the marketplace. Their work has been described in the June 2023 issue of the journal Nature, and recently, in the May 2025 issue of Nature Communications.
At the core of their innovative technology is a laser-beam steering device that is about 1,000 times smaller than what is commercially available today. The device is integrated into a microchip, which makes it compact, easy to fabricate, and affordable to produce. The chip allows engineers to eliminate bulky mechanical components, enabling production of a sturdy, solid-state LiDAR system that is much smaller and lighter than current models on the market, while also significantly reducing production costs. This compact and affordable technology for LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, including self-driving vehicles, drones, traffic control systems, and robotic systems found in agriculture, global supply chains, and medical imaging.
"UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that. Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story."
— UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li
The technology Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed has attracted attention, funding, and support since they published their work in 2023. They have received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Washington Research Foundation (Technology Commercialization grant in phase 1 and 2), and UW CoMotion, which, in addition to providing a CoMotion Innovation Gap Fund award, helped them to file and license the patents for their technology.
In June 2023, Bingzhao received the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student at UW ECE for his research in optics and photonics, which included his work on technology for LiDAR systems. Now, Bingzhao has been awarded a 2025 Activate Fellowship to commercialize this technology and turn it into a marketable product.
The Activate Fellowship and LEAP Photonics
[caption id="attachment_38431" align="alignright" width="600"]
LEAP Photonics’ product for LiDAR systems uses integrated acousto-optic beam steering technology developed by Bingzhao Li and Professor Li, alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin. This technology replaces mechanical moving parts with sound waves generated on a semiconductor chip to steer laser beams for LiDAR systems. These LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, such as self-driving cars, as shown above. Illustration by Bingzhao Li and Qixuan Lin.[/caption]
Activate Global, founded in 2015, is a nonprofit organization that originated from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its fellowship program is designed to give scientists a chance to transform their technology into a valuable product. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs, like Bingzhao, with a healthy salary and research funding as well as important technical resources and valuable support from a large network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. The Fellowship is very competitive, especially the Activate Anywhere Fellowship, which supports recipients living anywhere in the United States and is the award Bingzhao received. Bingzhao is the first UW graduate to receive an Activate Fellowship in the history of the organization. In June, he began participating in the program, which supports Fellowship recipients across the country with a nationwide network of industry leaders, investors, and philanthropists.
Bingzhao is also chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics, which he and Professor Li co-founded to commercialize the LiDAR technology they developed. With Bingzhao as CEO, the company stands to benefit from the Activate Fellowship. The acronym LEAP stands for “laser-enhanced automation perception” — a nod to the broad market Bingzhao and Professor Li are trying to reach, which encompasses autonomous machinery and robotics powered by artificial intelligence.
Bingzhao said that support from the Activate Fellowship is coming during a critical time for LEAP Photonics.
“For a startup, Activate can be a bridge between government funding and potential investors,” Bingzhao said. “It also acts as an indicator. If you receive an Activate Fellowship, it means you have the potential to grow your startup into a bigger company. Venture capitalists notice that.”
[caption id="attachment_38436" align="alignleft" width="400"]
Bingzhao Li working in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
“The Fellowship also fills an important gap,” Professor Li added. “Government funding for technology development often lacks guidance for creating and growing a startup company. The Activate Fellowship provides funding while also providing marketing and product development support, which includes connecting Fellowship recipients, like Bingzhao, to a wide range of mentors and helpful contacts, including potential investors.”
The company has already had fundraising success. Very recently, it won a sizable Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation. Bingzhao and Professor Li said they anticipate that Bingzhao’s participation in the Activate Fellowship program will further augment their fundraising efforts.
Bingzhao said that the goal for LEAP Photonics over the next two years is to move their technology for LiDAR systems from what is considered to be a minimal viable product (an early version of a commercial product with minimal features) into a full-featured prototype. By the time the Fellowship concludes, he and Professor Li said they expect to have created a product ready for the marketplace.
“UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that,” Professor Li said. “Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story. There are many other stories like this one happening right now in the Department, with many more to come.”
To learn more about Bingzhao Li, read “Bingzhao Li — bringing light and sound into computer chips.” Details about Professor Mo Li’s background and research are available on his UW ECE website bio page and on the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems website. Information about LEAP Photonics is available on the company’s website.
[post_title] => Bingzhao Li receives Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => bingzhao-li-2025-activate-fellowship
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-24 11:05:24
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-24 18:05:24
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38424
[menu_order] => 1
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38383
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-17 09:46:44
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-17 16:46:44
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Professor Kai-Mei Fu elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => professor-kai-mei-fu-elected-to-the-washington-state-academy-of-sciences
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-21 16:58:07
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-21 23:58:07
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38383
[menu_order] => 2
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38314
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-06-23 14:34:54
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-23 21:34:54
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Engineering research matters
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => engineering-research-matters
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-23 14:34:54
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-23 21:34:54
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38314
[menu_order] => 3
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[3] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38224
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-06-16 08:10:58
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-16 15:10:58
[post_content] => [caption id="attachment_38225" align="alignright" width="600"]
UW ECE doctoral students Marziyeh Rezaei (left) and Pengyu Zeng (right) have been named recipients of a 2025 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship. They are conducting research aimed at enabling scalable, power-efficient optical links for the next generation of edge-cloud data centers supporting 6G infrastructure.[/caption]
Qualcomm, a multinational corporation that creates microchips, software, and solutions related to wireless technology, recently announced that two UW ECE doctoral students will receive a 2025 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship. These students are among only 34 recipients of this prestigious award in North America. The Fellowship program is focused on recognizing, rewarding, and mentoring graduate students conducting a broad range of technical research, based on Qualcomm’s core values of innovation, execution, and teamwork.
Fellowship recipients Marziyeh Rezaei and Pengyu Zeng are both doctoral students at UW ECE advised by Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni. In Moazeni’s lab, Rezaei and Zeng conduct research at the intersection of integrated system design and photonics, with applications in computing and communication, sensing and imaging, and the life sciences.
The Fellowship program empowers graduate students like Rezaei and Zeng to take giant steps toward achieving their research goals. Students from top American and international universities are encouraged to apply and submit a proposal on any innovative idea of their choosing. Winning students earn a one-year fellowship and are mentored by Qualcomm engineers to facilitate the success of the proposed research project.
“Marziyeh and Pengyu are developing the next generation of coherent optics for connectivity, from data centers to 6G networks. I truly enjoy working with students who take on challenging, real-world problems, and I’m proud of them!”
— UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni
Rezaei and Zeng proposed developing technology that connects tens of thousands of computer processor chips in a data center with light moving through optical fibers, which is almost lossless compared to conventional electrical signals in copper wire. Their novel approach includes making use of ultra-low power analog circuits to replace conventional, power-hungry components in optical links. Both Rezaei and Zeng will be actively involved in the design, implementation, and testing of the proposed solution, each contributing their expertise to different core components of the system. They will be working under Moazeni’s guidance, along with mentorship from Qualcomm engineers Bhushan Asuri and Mali Nagarajan.
This new and improved technology could enable scalable, power-efficient optical links for the next generation of edge-cloud data centers supporting 6G infrastructure. Power-efficient, high-throughput optical interconnects are critical for 6G networks, as global mobile data traffic is expected to exceed 1,000 exabytes per month by 2030, demanding optical links that can support terabit-per-second speeds while maintaining low energy consumption for sustainable operation. Rezaei and Zeng’s proposed coherent optical links provide an innovative way to address the scalability, speed, and energy-efficiency limitations of today’s optical interconnects.
Marziyeh Rezaei
[caption id="attachment_38229" align="alignright" width="300"]
UW ECE graduate student Marziyeh Rezaei[/caption]
Marziyeh Rezaei received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a focus on electronic integrated circuit design in 2020 from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. She worked as a research assistant in the Robotics, Perception and AI Lab at the Chinese University of Hong Kong during summer 2019 and at NVIDIA in summer 2024. Currently, she is a fourth-year doctoral student at UW ECE. In 2022, she was awarded a Diversity in Technology Scholarship from Cadence corporation for her outstanding leadership skills, academic achievement, and drive to shape the world of technology. Her prior research includes exploring the feasibility and advantages of proposed coherent links for intra-data center applications, which can also be extended to fronthaul and midhaul interconnects.
“Winning this fellowship is a meaningful recognition of the work I’ve poured into my doctoral degree. It feels incredibly rewarding to have the excitement, dedication, and effort I’ve invested in this project acknowledged,” Rezaei said. “Achieving this goal before graduation has been a dream come true, and this support will help us bring our proposal to life and demonstrate a working proof of concept to the research community.”
Pengyu Zeng
[caption id="attachment_38230" align="alignright" width="300"]
UW ECE graduate student Pengyu Zeng[/caption]
Pengyu Zeng is a second-year doctoral student at UW ECE. He received his bachelor’s degree in electronic information engineering in 2023 from Wuhan University in Wuhan, China, with a focus on analog circuits design. At UW ECE, his research focuses on analog and mixed-signal circuits design for high-speed optical transceivers. His current research project is developing ultra-low power co-packaged optical interconnects based on silicon photonics.
“Receiving this fellowship is a meaningful recognition of the value of our research,” Zeng said. “The financial and technical support enable us to further advance this innovative project with greater focus and motivation.”
Learn more about the Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship program on the company’s website.
[post_title] => UW ECE graduate students receive Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => 2025-qualcomm-innovation-fellowship
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-16 08:17:01
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-16 15:17:01
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38224
[menu_order] => 4
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[4] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38200
[post_author] => 51
[post_date] => 2025-06-09 15:40:58
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-09 22:40:58
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Congratulations, Class of 2025!
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => https-www-ece-uw-edu-news-events-graduation
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-09 16:00:34
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-09 23:00:34
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38200
[menu_order] => 5
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[5] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 37959
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-06-02 10:26:16
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-02 17:26:16
[post_content] => [caption id="attachment_37963" align="alignright" width="600"]
Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE ‘25) and Devan Perkash (BSECE ‘25) will speak at this year’s Graduation Ceremony, which will take place in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Wednesday, June 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. Photo of Nivii Kalavakonda by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
The University of Washington Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering is proud to announce that in addition to UW ECE alumna Thy Tran (BSEE ‘93), two outstanding students have been selected to speak at our 2025 Graduation Ceremony. Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE ‘25) will offer remarks on behalf of graduate students, and Devan Perkash (BSECE ‘25) will represent undergraduates. Kalavakonda and Perkash were selected for this honor because of their academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and service to the Department. This year’s Graduation Ceremony will take place in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Wednesday, June 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. The event will be presided over by UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins.
“I am thrilled to have such fine examples of students from our graduating class to be speaking at this year’s Graduation Ceremony,” Klavins said. “Nivii exemplifies going above and beyond, not only in her research, but also in her service and leadership roles outside of the classroom. I also think that Devan’s entrepreneurial activity and enthusiasm for using technology to better people’s lives is a great example of our students’ potential to impact the world in a positive way.”
Learn more about both students below.
Graduate student speaker
Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda
(Ph.D. EE ‘25)
[caption id="attachment_37969" align="alignright" width="400"]
Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE '25)[/caption]
Nivii Kalavakonda is graduating with a doctoral degree in electrical engineering. Her research at UW ECE focused on developing an assistive robot for surgical suction that works cooperatively with a surgeon. She was advised by Professor Blake Hannaford and worked closely with Dr. Laligam Sekhar in UW Medicine. Kalavakonda was also part of the Science, Technology, and Society Studies program at the UW. She has held internships at Amazon, Apple, and NVIDIA.
Kalavakonda has received the Yang Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, the UW ECE Student Impact Award, and an Amazon Catalyst fellowship. She was selected to be part of the UW’s Husky 100, and she has been broadly recognized as part of the Robotics Science and Systems Pioneers and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Rising Stars cohorts.
Kalavakonda was a predoctoral instructor for the ECE 543 Models of Robot Manipulation course. With the intention of supporting student wellness and success, Kalavakonda has also co-founded several initiatives at UW ECE, such as the Student Advisory Council; the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; and the Future Faculty Preparation Program. After graduating, Kalavakonda will be seeking an academic position, where she hopes to continue working with students on robotics.
Undergraduate student speaker
Devan Perkash
(BSECE ‘25)
[caption id="attachment_37971" align="alignright" width="400"]
Devan Perkash (BSECE '25)[/caption]
Devan Perkash is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering. At the UW, he specialized in machine learning and computer architecture, gaining practical experience through coursework and internships. His senior capstone project, done in partnership with Amazon, focused on quantizing large language models to run efficiently on edge devices, such as smartphones and laptops, bringing advanced artificial intelligence closer to end-users.
Perkash strongly believes that technology’s primary value lies in solving practical, real-world challenges. This belief fuels his passion for technological entrepreneurship. He took an active leadership role at the UW, serving as president of the Lavin Entrepreneurship Program, where he led over a hundred student entrepreneurs and managed resources dedicated to fostering successful startups. He also co-founded the UW Venture Capital Club, aiming to democratize access to venture capital knowledge and networks through initiatives, such as hosting speaker series with top Seattle-based venture capitalists.
After graduation, Perkash plans to deepen his knowledge by pursuing a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he aims to gain deeper technical knowledge and entrepreneurial experience, preparing him to create technology solutions that positively impact people’s lives.
[post_title] => UW ECE Graduation will feature two student speakers
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => uw-ece-graduation-will-feature-two-student-speakers
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-02 10:26:16
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-02 17:26:16
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=37959
[menu_order] => 6
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
)
[post_count] => 6
[current_post] => -1
[before_loop] => 1
[in_the_loop] =>
[post] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38424
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-24 11:04:50
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-24 18:04:50
[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam / UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_38426" align="alignright" width="600"] UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li. Shown above: Bingzhao holds the LiDAR system microchip he and Professor Li engineered in the lab. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, is a remote sensing technology used for creating high-resolution 3D maps and models of the environment. It has many uses and can provide valuable information beyond what can be seen with a conventional camera. For example, self-driving cars can use LiDAR to detect pedestrians and other obstacles in their path that are difficult to see; LiDAR enables robots to perceive their surroundings, navigate complex spaces, and interact with objects; and LiDAR is useful for mapping complex terrain by those in forestry, mining, archaeology, construction, traffic control, and urban planning.
But current LiDAR systems rely on bulky mechanical components that prevent widespread adoption in compact applications. While LiDAR technology delivers superior accuracy and reliability for 3D perception, existing systems are too large, heavy, and expensive for smaller devices that need to be mobile and versatile.
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has been working on this issue with UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li (no family relation) since 2020, when the pair first came up with an idea for improving LiDAR systems during the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Li is also a member of the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems, and a member of QuantumX at the UW, which pioneers development of quantum-enabled technology.
“The idea started during the COVID-19 lockdown, when we did not have access to our lab,” Bingzhao said. “During a meeting on Zoom, Professor Li and I first conceived the idea with a simple sketch on paper, and as soon as our lab reopened, we quickly turned it into a significant research result. Now, we want to turn it into a product.”
[caption id="attachment_38428" align="alignleft" width="400"] Bingzhao Li is a research scientist in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems as well as a co-founder and chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics. Photo courtesy of Bingzhao Li[/caption]
Bingzhao has been learning from and working with Professor Li for a long time — first as an undergraduate student in an electromagnetics course taught by Professor Li, then later, as a graduate student in Professor Li’s research group. After receiving his doctoral degree from UW ECE, Bingzhao continued to work with Professor Li as a postdoctoral research fellow. Today, Bingzhao is a research scientist in Professor Li’s UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, where he investigates integrated photonic devices, optoelectronic materials, and quantum photonics.
Over the last five years, and working alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin, Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed new technology for LiDAR systems that is much more compact and affordable than what is currently available in the marketplace. Their work has been described in the June 2023 issue of the journal Nature, and recently, in the May 2025 issue of Nature Communications.
At the core of their innovative technology is a laser-beam steering device that is about 1,000 times smaller than what is commercially available today. The device is integrated into a microchip, which makes it compact, easy to fabricate, and affordable to produce. The chip allows engineers to eliminate bulky mechanical components, enabling production of a sturdy, solid-state LiDAR system that is much smaller and lighter than current models on the market, while also significantly reducing production costs. This compact and affordable technology for LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, including self-driving vehicles, drones, traffic control systems, and robotic systems found in agriculture, global supply chains, and medical imaging.
"UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that. Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story."
— UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li
The technology Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed has attracted attention, funding, and support since they published their work in 2023. They have received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Washington Research Foundation (Technology Commercialization grant in phase 1 and 2), and UW CoMotion, which, in addition to providing a CoMotion Innovation Gap Fund award, helped them to file and license the patents for their technology.
In June 2023, Bingzhao received the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student at UW ECE for his research in optics and photonics, which included his work on technology for LiDAR systems. Now, Bingzhao has been awarded a 2025 Activate Fellowship to commercialize this technology and turn it into a marketable product.
The Activate Fellowship and LEAP Photonics
[caption id="attachment_38431" align="alignright" width="600"] LEAP Photonics’ product for LiDAR systems uses integrated acousto-optic beam steering technology developed by Bingzhao Li and Professor Li, alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin. This technology replaces mechanical moving parts with sound waves generated on a semiconductor chip to steer laser beams for LiDAR systems. These LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, such as self-driving cars, as shown above. Illustration by Bingzhao Li and Qixuan Lin.[/caption]
Activate Global, founded in 2015, is a nonprofit organization that originated from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its fellowship program is designed to give scientists a chance to transform their technology into a valuable product. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs, like Bingzhao, with a healthy salary and research funding as well as important technical resources and valuable support from a large network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. The Fellowship is very competitive, especially the Activate Anywhere Fellowship, which supports recipients living anywhere in the United States and is the award Bingzhao received. Bingzhao is the first UW graduate to receive an Activate Fellowship in the history of the organization. In June, he began participating in the program, which supports Fellowship recipients across the country with a nationwide network of industry leaders, investors, and philanthropists.
Bingzhao is also chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics, which he and Professor Li co-founded to commercialize the LiDAR technology they developed. With Bingzhao as CEO, the company stands to benefit from the Activate Fellowship. The acronym LEAP stands for “laser-enhanced automation perception” — a nod to the broad market Bingzhao and Professor Li are trying to reach, which encompasses autonomous machinery and robotics powered by artificial intelligence.
Bingzhao said that support from the Activate Fellowship is coming during a critical time for LEAP Photonics.
“For a startup, Activate can be a bridge between government funding and potential investors,” Bingzhao said. “It also acts as an indicator. If you receive an Activate Fellowship, it means you have the potential to grow your startup into a bigger company. Venture capitalists notice that.”
[caption id="attachment_38436" align="alignleft" width="400"] Bingzhao Li working in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
“The Fellowship also fills an important gap,” Professor Li added. “Government funding for technology development often lacks guidance for creating and growing a startup company. The Activate Fellowship provides funding while also providing marketing and product development support, which includes connecting Fellowship recipients, like Bingzhao, to a wide range of mentors and helpful contacts, including potential investors.”
The company has already had fundraising success. Very recently, it won a sizable Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation. Bingzhao and Professor Li said they anticipate that Bingzhao’s participation in the Activate Fellowship program will further augment their fundraising efforts.
Bingzhao said that the goal for LEAP Photonics over the next two years is to move their technology for LiDAR systems from what is considered to be a minimal viable product (an early version of a commercial product with minimal features) into a full-featured prototype. By the time the Fellowship concludes, he and Professor Li said they expect to have created a product ready for the marketplace.
“UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that,” Professor Li said. “Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story. There are many other stories like this one happening right now in the Department, with many more to come.”
To learn more about Bingzhao Li, read “Bingzhao Li — bringing light and sound into computer chips.” Details about Professor Mo Li’s background and research are available on his UW ECE website bio page and on the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems website. Information about LEAP Photonics is available on the company’s website.
[post_title] => Bingzhao Li receives Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => bingzhao-li-2025-activate-fellowship
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-24 11:05:24
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-24 18:05:24
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38424
[menu_order] => 1
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[comment_count] => 0
[current_comment] => -1
[found_posts] => 922
[max_num_pages] => 154
[max_num_comment_pages] => 0
[is_single] =>
[is_preview] =>
[is_page] =>
[is_archive] => 1
[is_date] =>
[is_year] =>
[is_month] =>
[is_day] =>
[is_time] =>
[is_author] =>
[is_category] =>
[is_tag] =>
[is_tax] =>
[is_search] =>
[is_feed] =>
[is_comment_feed] =>
[is_trackback] =>
[is_home] =>
[is_privacy_policy] =>
[is_404] =>
[is_embed] =>
[is_paged] =>
[is_admin] =>
[is_attachment] =>
[is_singular] =>
[is_robots] =>
[is_favicon] =>
[is_posts_page] =>
[is_post_type_archive] => 1
[query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 259bd492f9be11f3568840d89049228d
[query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => 1
[thumbnails_cached] =>
[allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] =>
[stopwords:WP_Query:private] =>
[compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => query_vars_hash
[1] => query_vars_changed
)
[compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => init_query_flags
[1] => parse_tax_query
)
)
[_type:protected] => spotlight
[_from:protected] => newsawards_landing
[_args:protected] => Array
(
[post_type] => spotlight
[meta_query] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[key] => type
[value] => news
[compare] => LIKE
)
)
[posts_per_page] => 6
[post_status] => publish
)
[_jids:protected] =>
[_taxa:protected] => Array
(
)
[_meta:protected] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[key] => type
[value] => news
[compare] => LIKE
)
)
[_metarelation:protected] => AND
[_results:protected] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38424
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-24 11:04:50
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-24 18:04:50
[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam / UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_38426" align="alignright" width="600"] UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li. Shown above: Bingzhao holds the LiDAR system microchip he and Professor Li engineered in the lab. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, is a remote sensing technology used for creating high-resolution 3D maps and models of the environment. It has many uses and can provide valuable information beyond what can be seen with a conventional camera. For example, self-driving cars can use LiDAR to detect pedestrians and other obstacles in their path that are difficult to see; LiDAR enables robots to perceive their surroundings, navigate complex spaces, and interact with objects; and LiDAR is useful for mapping complex terrain by those in forestry, mining, archaeology, construction, traffic control, and urban planning.
But current LiDAR systems rely on bulky mechanical components that prevent widespread adoption in compact applications. While LiDAR technology delivers superior accuracy and reliability for 3D perception, existing systems are too large, heavy, and expensive for smaller devices that need to be mobile and versatile.
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has been working on this issue with UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li (no family relation) since 2020, when the pair first came up with an idea for improving LiDAR systems during the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Li is also a member of the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems, and a member of QuantumX at the UW, which pioneers development of quantum-enabled technology.
“The idea started during the COVID-19 lockdown, when we did not have access to our lab,” Bingzhao said. “During a meeting on Zoom, Professor Li and I first conceived the idea with a simple sketch on paper, and as soon as our lab reopened, we quickly turned it into a significant research result. Now, we want to turn it into a product.”
[caption id="attachment_38428" align="alignleft" width="400"] Bingzhao Li is a research scientist in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems as well as a co-founder and chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics. Photo courtesy of Bingzhao Li[/caption]
Bingzhao has been learning from and working with Professor Li for a long time — first as an undergraduate student in an electromagnetics course taught by Professor Li, then later, as a graduate student in Professor Li’s research group. After receiving his doctoral degree from UW ECE, Bingzhao continued to work with Professor Li as a postdoctoral research fellow. Today, Bingzhao is a research scientist in Professor Li’s UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, where he investigates integrated photonic devices, optoelectronic materials, and quantum photonics.
Over the last five years, and working alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin, Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed new technology for LiDAR systems that is much more compact and affordable than what is currently available in the marketplace. Their work has been described in the June 2023 issue of the journal Nature, and recently, in the May 2025 issue of Nature Communications.
At the core of their innovative technology is a laser-beam steering device that is about 1,000 times smaller than what is commercially available today. The device is integrated into a microchip, which makes it compact, easy to fabricate, and affordable to produce. The chip allows engineers to eliminate bulky mechanical components, enabling production of a sturdy, solid-state LiDAR system that is much smaller and lighter than current models on the market, while also significantly reducing production costs. This compact and affordable technology for LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, including self-driving vehicles, drones, traffic control systems, and robotic systems found in agriculture, global supply chains, and medical imaging.
"UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that. Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story."
— UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li
The technology Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed has attracted attention, funding, and support since they published their work in 2023. They have received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Washington Research Foundation (Technology Commercialization grant in phase 1 and 2), and UW CoMotion, which, in addition to providing a CoMotion Innovation Gap Fund award, helped them to file and license the patents for their technology.
In June 2023, Bingzhao received the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student at UW ECE for his research in optics and photonics, which included his work on technology for LiDAR systems. Now, Bingzhao has been awarded a 2025 Activate Fellowship to commercialize this technology and turn it into a marketable product.
The Activate Fellowship and LEAP Photonics
[caption id="attachment_38431" align="alignright" width="600"] LEAP Photonics’ product for LiDAR systems uses integrated acousto-optic beam steering technology developed by Bingzhao Li and Professor Li, alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin. This technology replaces mechanical moving parts with sound waves generated on a semiconductor chip to steer laser beams for LiDAR systems. These LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, such as self-driving cars, as shown above. Illustration by Bingzhao Li and Qixuan Lin.[/caption]
Activate Global, founded in 2015, is a nonprofit organization that originated from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its fellowship program is designed to give scientists a chance to transform their technology into a valuable product. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs, like Bingzhao, with a healthy salary and research funding as well as important technical resources and valuable support from a large network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. The Fellowship is very competitive, especially the Activate Anywhere Fellowship, which supports recipients living anywhere in the United States and is the award Bingzhao received. Bingzhao is the first UW graduate to receive an Activate Fellowship in the history of the organization. In June, he began participating in the program, which supports Fellowship recipients across the country with a nationwide network of industry leaders, investors, and philanthropists.
Bingzhao is also chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics, which he and Professor Li co-founded to commercialize the LiDAR technology they developed. With Bingzhao as CEO, the company stands to benefit from the Activate Fellowship. The acronym LEAP stands for “laser-enhanced automation perception” — a nod to the broad market Bingzhao and Professor Li are trying to reach, which encompasses autonomous machinery and robotics powered by artificial intelligence.
Bingzhao said that support from the Activate Fellowship is coming during a critical time for LEAP Photonics.
“For a startup, Activate can be a bridge between government funding and potential investors,” Bingzhao said. “It also acts as an indicator. If you receive an Activate Fellowship, it means you have the potential to grow your startup into a bigger company. Venture capitalists notice that.”
[caption id="attachment_38436" align="alignleft" width="400"] Bingzhao Li working in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
“The Fellowship also fills an important gap,” Professor Li added. “Government funding for technology development often lacks guidance for creating and growing a startup company. The Activate Fellowship provides funding while also providing marketing and product development support, which includes connecting Fellowship recipients, like Bingzhao, to a wide range of mentors and helpful contacts, including potential investors.”
The company has already had fundraising success. Very recently, it won a sizable Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation. Bingzhao and Professor Li said they anticipate that Bingzhao’s participation in the Activate Fellowship program will further augment their fundraising efforts.
Bingzhao said that the goal for LEAP Photonics over the next two years is to move their technology for LiDAR systems from what is considered to be a minimal viable product (an early version of a commercial product with minimal features) into a full-featured prototype. By the time the Fellowship concludes, he and Professor Li said they expect to have created a product ready for the marketplace.
“UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that,” Professor Li said. “Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story. There are many other stories like this one happening right now in the Department, with many more to come.”
To learn more about Bingzhao Li, read “Bingzhao Li — bringing light and sound into computer chips.” Details about Professor Mo Li’s background and research are available on his UW ECE website bio page and on the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems website. Information about LEAP Photonics is available on the company’s website.
[post_title] => Bingzhao Li receives Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => bingzhao-li-2025-activate-fellowship
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-24 11:05:24
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-24 18:05:24
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38424
[menu_order] => 1
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38383
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-17 09:46:44
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-17 16:46:44
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Professor Kai-Mei Fu elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => professor-kai-mei-fu-elected-to-the-washington-state-academy-of-sciences
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-21 16:58:07
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-21 23:58:07
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38383
[menu_order] => 2
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38314
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-06-23 14:34:54
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-23 21:34:54
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Engineering research matters
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => engineering-research-matters
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-23 14:34:54
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-23 21:34:54
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38314
[menu_order] => 3
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[3] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38224
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-06-16 08:10:58
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-16 15:10:58
[post_content] => [caption id="attachment_38225" align="alignright" width="600"] UW ECE doctoral students Marziyeh Rezaei (left) and Pengyu Zeng (right) have been named recipients of a 2025 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship. They are conducting research aimed at enabling scalable, power-efficient optical links for the next generation of edge-cloud data centers supporting 6G infrastructure.[/caption]
Qualcomm, a multinational corporation that creates microchips, software, and solutions related to wireless technology, recently announced that two UW ECE doctoral students will receive a 2025 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship. These students are among only 34 recipients of this prestigious award in North America. The Fellowship program is focused on recognizing, rewarding, and mentoring graduate students conducting a broad range of technical research, based on Qualcomm’s core values of innovation, execution, and teamwork.
Fellowship recipients Marziyeh Rezaei and Pengyu Zeng are both doctoral students at UW ECE advised by Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni. In Moazeni’s lab, Rezaei and Zeng conduct research at the intersection of integrated system design and photonics, with applications in computing and communication, sensing and imaging, and the life sciences.
The Fellowship program empowers graduate students like Rezaei and Zeng to take giant steps toward achieving their research goals. Students from top American and international universities are encouraged to apply and submit a proposal on any innovative idea of their choosing. Winning students earn a one-year fellowship and are mentored by Qualcomm engineers to facilitate the success of the proposed research project.
“Marziyeh and Pengyu are developing the next generation of coherent optics for connectivity, from data centers to 6G networks. I truly enjoy working with students who take on challenging, real-world problems, and I’m proud of them!”
— UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni
Rezaei and Zeng proposed developing technology that connects tens of thousands of computer processor chips in a data center with light moving through optical fibers, which is almost lossless compared to conventional electrical signals in copper wire. Their novel approach includes making use of ultra-low power analog circuits to replace conventional, power-hungry components in optical links. Both Rezaei and Zeng will be actively involved in the design, implementation, and testing of the proposed solution, each contributing their expertise to different core components of the system. They will be working under Moazeni’s guidance, along with mentorship from Qualcomm engineers Bhushan Asuri and Mali Nagarajan.
This new and improved technology could enable scalable, power-efficient optical links for the next generation of edge-cloud data centers supporting 6G infrastructure. Power-efficient, high-throughput optical interconnects are critical for 6G networks, as global mobile data traffic is expected to exceed 1,000 exabytes per month by 2030, demanding optical links that can support terabit-per-second speeds while maintaining low energy consumption for sustainable operation. Rezaei and Zeng’s proposed coherent optical links provide an innovative way to address the scalability, speed, and energy-efficiency limitations of today’s optical interconnects.
Marziyeh Rezaei
[caption id="attachment_38229" align="alignright" width="300"] UW ECE graduate student Marziyeh Rezaei[/caption]
Marziyeh Rezaei received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a focus on electronic integrated circuit design in 2020 from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. She worked as a research assistant in the Robotics, Perception and AI Lab at the Chinese University of Hong Kong during summer 2019 and at NVIDIA in summer 2024. Currently, she is a fourth-year doctoral student at UW ECE. In 2022, she was awarded a Diversity in Technology Scholarship from Cadence corporation for her outstanding leadership skills, academic achievement, and drive to shape the world of technology. Her prior research includes exploring the feasibility and advantages of proposed coherent links for intra-data center applications, which can also be extended to fronthaul and midhaul interconnects.
“Winning this fellowship is a meaningful recognition of the work I’ve poured into my doctoral degree. It feels incredibly rewarding to have the excitement, dedication, and effort I’ve invested in this project acknowledged,” Rezaei said. “Achieving this goal before graduation has been a dream come true, and this support will help us bring our proposal to life and demonstrate a working proof of concept to the research community.”
Pengyu Zeng
[caption id="attachment_38230" align="alignright" width="300"] UW ECE graduate student Pengyu Zeng[/caption]
Pengyu Zeng is a second-year doctoral student at UW ECE. He received his bachelor’s degree in electronic information engineering in 2023 from Wuhan University in Wuhan, China, with a focus on analog circuits design. At UW ECE, his research focuses on analog and mixed-signal circuits design for high-speed optical transceivers. His current research project is developing ultra-low power co-packaged optical interconnects based on silicon photonics.
“Receiving this fellowship is a meaningful recognition of the value of our research,” Zeng said. “The financial and technical support enable us to further advance this innovative project with greater focus and motivation.”
Learn more about the Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship program on the company’s website.
[post_title] => UW ECE graduate students receive Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => 2025-qualcomm-innovation-fellowship
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-16 08:17:01
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-16 15:17:01
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38224
[menu_order] => 4
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[4] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38200
[post_author] => 51
[post_date] => 2025-06-09 15:40:58
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-09 22:40:58
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Congratulations, Class of 2025!
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => https-www-ece-uw-edu-news-events-graduation
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-09 16:00:34
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-09 23:00:34
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38200
[menu_order] => 5
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[5] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 37959
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-06-02 10:26:16
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-02 17:26:16
[post_content] => [caption id="attachment_37963" align="alignright" width="600"] Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE ‘25) and Devan Perkash (BSECE ‘25) will speak at this year’s Graduation Ceremony, which will take place in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Wednesday, June 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. Photo of Nivii Kalavakonda by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
The University of Washington Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering is proud to announce that in addition to UW ECE alumna Thy Tran (BSEE ‘93), two outstanding students have been selected to speak at our 2025 Graduation Ceremony. Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE ‘25) will offer remarks on behalf of graduate students, and Devan Perkash (BSECE ‘25) will represent undergraduates. Kalavakonda and Perkash were selected for this honor because of their academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and service to the Department. This year’s Graduation Ceremony will take place in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Wednesday, June 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. The event will be presided over by UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins.
“I am thrilled to have such fine examples of students from our graduating class to be speaking at this year’s Graduation Ceremony,” Klavins said. “Nivii exemplifies going above and beyond, not only in her research, but also in her service and leadership roles outside of the classroom. I also think that Devan’s entrepreneurial activity and enthusiasm for using technology to better people’s lives is a great example of our students’ potential to impact the world in a positive way.”
Learn more about both students below.
Graduate student speaker
Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda
(Ph.D. EE ‘25)
[caption id="attachment_37969" align="alignright" width="400"] Niveditha (Nivii) Kalavakonda (Ph.D. EE '25)[/caption]
Nivii Kalavakonda is graduating with a doctoral degree in electrical engineering. Her research at UW ECE focused on developing an assistive robot for surgical suction that works cooperatively with a surgeon. She was advised by Professor Blake Hannaford and worked closely with Dr. Laligam Sekhar in UW Medicine. Kalavakonda was also part of the Science, Technology, and Society Studies program at the UW. She has held internships at Amazon, Apple, and NVIDIA.
Kalavakonda has received the Yang Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, the UW ECE Student Impact Award, and an Amazon Catalyst fellowship. She was selected to be part of the UW’s Husky 100, and she has been broadly recognized as part of the Robotics Science and Systems Pioneers and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Rising Stars cohorts.
Kalavakonda was a predoctoral instructor for the ECE 543 Models of Robot Manipulation course. With the intention of supporting student wellness and success, Kalavakonda has also co-founded several initiatives at UW ECE, such as the Student Advisory Council; the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; and the Future Faculty Preparation Program. After graduating, Kalavakonda will be seeking an academic position, where she hopes to continue working with students on robotics.
Undergraduate student speaker
Devan Perkash
(BSECE ‘25)
[caption id="attachment_37971" align="alignright" width="400"] Devan Perkash (BSECE '25)[/caption]
Devan Perkash is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering. At the UW, he specialized in machine learning and computer architecture, gaining practical experience through coursework and internships. His senior capstone project, done in partnership with Amazon, focused on quantizing large language models to run efficiently on edge devices, such as smartphones and laptops, bringing advanced artificial intelligence closer to end-users.
Perkash strongly believes that technology’s primary value lies in solving practical, real-world challenges. This belief fuels his passion for technological entrepreneurship. He took an active leadership role at the UW, serving as president of the Lavin Entrepreneurship Program, where he led over a hundred student entrepreneurs and managed resources dedicated to fostering successful startups. He also co-founded the UW Venture Capital Club, aiming to democratize access to venture capital knowledge and networks through initiatives, such as hosting speaker series with top Seattle-based venture capitalists.
After graduation, Perkash plans to deepen his knowledge by pursuing a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he aims to gain deeper technical knowledge and entrepreneurial experience, preparing him to create technology solutions that positively impact people’s lives.
[post_title] => UW ECE Graduation will feature two student speakers
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => uw-ece-graduation-will-feature-two-student-speakers
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-02 10:26:16
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-02 17:26:16
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=37959
[menu_order] => 6
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
)
[_numposts:protected] => 6
[_showAnnouncements:protected] =>
[_showTitle:protected] =>
[showMore] =>
)
