PhD student Lei Zhong has been named a recipient of a 2025 Google PhD Fellowship in Machine Perception, recognising his innovative research in controllable human-motion generation. Pushing the boundaries of generative AI Lei Zhong, a PhD student at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, has been awarded a 2025 Google PhD Fellowship in the Machine Perception category. This prestigious international fellowship recognises outstanding graduate students conducting exceptional and forward-thinking research in computer science and related disciplines.Lei’s research focuses on controllable human-motion generation, a field that combines computer graphics, computer vision, and generative AI. His work aims to build intelligent systems capable of understanding, generating, and reasoning about human motion at both symbolic and geometric levels. This research has broad applications in animation, robotics, virtual reality, and human-computer interaction. Supporting future leaders in technology The Google PhD Fellowship provides direct research funding and mentorship from Google Research, supporting Lei throughout his doctoral studies. The program is designed to nurture promising researchers and connect them with Google scientists to help advance their work and impact.Lei is supervised by Changjian Li, Professor at the School of Informatics. This award is a great honour and encouragement for my research. It recognises the importance of advancing human-centred generative AI and supports my long-term goal of building models that bridge language, motion, and creativity. I’m deeply grateful to my supervisors and collaborators for their support. Lei Zhong About the Google PhD Fellowship Program The Google PhD Fellowship Program was established to support promising PhD candidates around the world who are pursuing research in areas of computer science and related fields. Fellows are selected based on the strength of their academic record, research impact, and potential to shape the future of technology.The 2025 cohort includes students from leading institutions across the globe, working on topics ranging from machine learning and natural language processing to quantum computing and human-computer interaction. Related links Google Keyword blog announcement Full list of 2025 Google PhD Fellowship recipients Lei Zhong on GitHub Publication date 28 Oct, 2025
