Leon Zhao

I build physics-informed machine learning models for environmental and natural-hazard problems. My current focus is a satellite-driven avalanche forecaster that estimates risk from snowpack, weather, and terrain data at 2 to 5 km resolution. It placed 3rd in Engineering at the ISEF-affiliated Golden Gate STEM Fair. I'm a longtime snowboarder, and the project started as a way to bring data science to mountains I actually ride.

Outside the avalanche work, I led AI and software for LitterBot, an autonomous waste-sorting robot that won the Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA) Innovation Award and reached the Diamond Challenge Finals. I co-founded my school's AI Club and run a free global summer program teaching Python, NumPy, scikit-learn, and neural networks.