Congratulations to Zhe Fu, Civil and Environmental Engineering doctoral student in Transportation Engineering, who was awarded the EDGE in Tech Athena Award for Graduate Student Leadership, in recognition of pushing the boundaries of smart transportation research while redefining inclusive STEM leadership at UC Berkeley. “Leadership in STEM, I've learned, isn't just about technology or academic success. It's about breaking silences, building bridges, and creating a culture where every voice matters,” says Fu. “Thank you for hearing my voice, and thank you for celebrating all the diverse ways we can lead.”
As a doctoral student in transportation engineering, Fu has made landmark contributions to the future of mobility. Her work with the groundbreaking CIRCLES project, which leverages autonomous vehicles to smooth traffic flow, has gone beyond theory and into real-world impact. Through large-scale field tests, Fu has helped to prove that strategic, AI-powered interventions can lead to systemwide improvements that save energy.
“Over the past six years that I have known her, I have been delighted and impressed by
Zhe Fu’s reliability and positive energy. She is an amazing ally and advocate in fostering
a stronger, more connected research community,” says CEE Department Chair Joan Walker in her nomination letter. “Zhe has worked on research focused on making transportation more sustainable through designing control strategies; she volunteers for many events connecting researchers across academia, industry, and government, creating welcoming spaces for students and guests from a wide range of backgrounds; and she is deeply involved in programs that support international students, underrepresented groups, and women in STEM.”
Fu’s dedication to building resilient communities is striking. Selected for the national rising
stars workshops in mechanical engineering and cyberphysical systems, she has already been identified as a future faculty leader. She has co-led faculty hiring initiatives focused on equity and mentored 14 students from diverse backgrounds, and she serves as an executive board member of UC Berkeley’s Women in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (WiCSE) organization.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Zhe Fu over several years and across multiple roles as an active and committed member of the ITS Berkeley community,” says nominator Helen Bassham, Assistant to the Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS Berkeley). “Zhe has consistently taken on leadership and service roles, stands out for her reliability, positive energy, and willingness to step up whenever needed, and contributes to building a stronger, more connected transportation research community.”
Fu founded UC Berkeley’s Representation of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (RAPID-CEE) initiative, which helps international students feel at home and fosters a more cohesive department culture. As a member of her department’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) committee and a campus Graduate Assembly delegate, Fu has been a voice for institutional change. “I'm deeply honored to receive this award, my sincere thanks to EDGE in Tech, CITRIS, and the wonderful Berkeley community, and of course, a heartfelt thank-you to all my nominators,” says Fu.
Fu has previously been recognized with a 2022 UC Berkeley Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, a 2023 Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences INFORMS) Best Poster Award, and the 2024 UC Berkeley Dean’s Award for Inclusive Excellence.