From Autonomous Systems to Epistemically Aligned Human–AI Teams: Perspectives from Space and Other High-Consequence Systems
Zhaodan Kong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Davis. He is affiliated with the UC Davis Center for Space Exploration Research and the Center for Neuroengineering and Medicine, and serves as Associate Director of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute. He directs the Cyber–Human–Physical Systems Lab, where his research focuses on human–autonomy teaming, trust modeling, explainable and causal AI, and intelligent cyber-physical systems, with applications in space systems, advanced air mobility, neuroengineering, and environmental monitoring. His work integrates control, machine learning, formal methods, and human sensing to enable safe, adaptive, and trustworthy autonomy in high-consequence environments.