Princeton,New Jersey – Liu Zhuang, co-author of the groundbreaking DenseNetarchitecture, has announced his upcoming appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Princeton University. The appointment, effective September 2025,marks a significant move for the prominent AI researcher, who has made substantial contributions to the field of deep learning and computer vision.
Zhuang, who led thedevelopment of both DenseNet and ConvNeXt, two of the most influential neural network architectures in the field, will continue his research as a Research Scientist at Meta AI Fair until joining Princeton. His decision to join academia comes as a surprise to many,as many AI leaders have opted for entrepreneurial endeavors in recent years.
Zhuang’s journey to academia is an inspiring one. He was already a star student at the young age of 18, entering Tsinghua University’sYao Class, a prestigious program for top computer science students, after achieving the highest score in the national college entrance exam in Anhui Province. During his undergraduate studies, he collaborated with Gao Huang at Cornell University to develop DenseNet, a groundbreaking architecture that challenged the traditional linear structure of deep networks. This work was laterrecognized with the Best Paper Award at CVPR 2017, a prestigious conference in computer vision.
DenseNet’s impact on the field was significant, particularly in the pre-inflation era of CVPR. Its innovative approach to network connections quickly gained widespread adoption, demonstrating the potential of breaking away fromconventional deep learning paradigms.
Zhuang’s move to Princeton is a testament to his commitment to academic research and his desire to contribute to the next generation of AI talent. In his announcement, he expressed his excitement about joining the university, noting its proximity to New York City, a city he considers the best placein the world.
The news has been met with widespread acclaim from the AI community. Industry leaders like Tian Yuan-dong have extended their congratulations, acknowledging Zhuang’s exceptional contributions to the field.
Zhuang’s appointment at Princeton is a significant event for both the university and the AI community.His expertise and experience will undoubtedly contribute to the university’s continued excellence in computer science research. As he embarks on this new chapter in his career, the AI community eagerly awaits the innovative research that is sure to emerge from his work at Princeton.
References:
Views: 0