November 14, 2025
Roy Zhao, a second-year PhD student in Physics and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, studies AI application in cosmology and galaxy formation across cosmic time. Born in Beijing, China, Roy spent much of his adolescent years in Vancouver, British Columbia. He earned undergraduate degrees from UCLA and then worked as a staff scientist at UCLA Astronomy before joining the University of Chicago. We interviewed Roy about his experiences here.
Why did you choose the University of Chicago?
Community and cosmology! During my Open House visit to the Department of Physics after my acceptance, I was welcomed by an immense amount of kindness from faculty, staff, and graduate students here. I always liked to be a member of a tight-knit community from my high school experience, and UChicago was the perfect fit. Scientifically, UChicago is one of the world-leading centres for cosmology, with many experts that I would like to learn from and collaborate with. With this combination, it was beyond a natural choice to come to UChicago.
What made you interested in your current field of study?
I always like the idea of studying grand, elegant things, and our cosmos just happened to be one of them. The evolution of our cosmos is governed by a handful of parameters and a set of equations, something surprisingly simple compared to the scale. However, to measure these parameters means we are looking into the hidden clues from how the galaxies are distributed across the universe. With the advent of AI techniques, there are many efforts in applying AI to extract information from our data, so I was very interested in contributing to yet another paradigm shift in the sciences in this era.
Plus, who could’ve said no to being paid to look at stars?
What has been your most memorable class and why?
My most memorable ones have to be the classes for which I served as a Teaching Assistant at UChicago. In my first year, I taught the Physics for Future Presidents sequence for the Fall and Winter quarters and had a wonderful experience interacting with my students. When I returned to teaching the same class the second quarter (I wasn’t planning to after the first!), the entire classes welcomed me with a spontaneous round of applause and cheers—it will always be one of the most memorable scenes in my life.
[Editor’s note: Roy was awarded a Physical Sciences Prize for Teaching in Spring 2025.]
What skill have you gained here that might be or has already proven valuable outside of school?
The ability to convey ideas clearly to a diverse composition of audience. With our newly launched NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI), we now have the chance to collaborate with fellow computer scientists and statisticians in cosmology projects. Oftentimes, we share a different background, so the conversation isn’t always smooth when we are combining the cutting-edge aspects of multiple fields. Through my collaboration in SkAI and also my teaching experiences, I found myself becoming a much clearer narrator, not just between different scientific disciplines but also to the general public.
What is your favorite restaurant in Hyde Park? Favorite dish?
My recent favourite has to be Harold’s. After a morning of work and meetings, there is really no better treat than feasting on their four-piece fried chicken wings with friends!
What is your favorite campus spot and why?
It will be a crowd favourite, but I will have to give it to the Quad, specifically the quadrant in front of Ryerson. In the warmer seasons, I would dedicate a part of my day to work outside and take zoom meeting with my advisor on the lawn. In the early spring or late fall, the sun would be so low on the horizon that everything within the quad shines in a golden glow under the blue sky. It is one of my favourite pastimes—to simply be there and appreciate the scenery.
What’s something you love to do outside of the classroom or lab?
I used to work as a photographer, but not so much recently due to a multitude of reasons. I am trying to resume the photography side of me for the autumn view in the quad!
What support or mentorship have you received at UChicago that was particularly valuable to you?
The support I receive every day is the best part about UChicago. My advisor [Professor Emeritus Joshua Frieman] not only gives me invaluable scientific insights but also supports me during difficult and stressful times. He is very attentive to my research interests and encourages me to collaborate with other experts so that I can customize my own scientific pursuits. Knowing how busy he is, I thoroughly appreciate his patience and care.
In the meantime, I am also constantly supported by my peers. I am fortunate to share my experience here with a lovely cohort, office mates, and collaborators within our institute. They truly made this place special.
What are your plans post-UChicago?
To be complete honest, I haven’t made any yet! One of the most beautiful (and simultaneously stressful) trait of the current world is how fast we are advancing, so I decided that I will simply focus on what I am passionate about now—the research that I carry out here at UChicago. In the future, I would hope to contribute my knowledge in any form to our world.
What advice or insights do you have for new or prospective Maroons?
It might be a bit cliché-sounding, but my insight, if I really have any, is that things always work out in miraculous ways. I vividly remember the stress during my application season, which did not cease to exist even after I made the choice. As one of my favourite teachers used to say, “a choice is right only because we make it so.” Follow your instincts on these choices! Come to visit if you can and speak to as many of us as you can, so that you have a “gut” feeling about your choice and simply follow it.