
Dr Rui Zhu
BSc, MSc, PhD
Expertise
I am a spatial data scientist working on geo-knowledge graphs, spatially explicit machine learning, earth observation, and geospatial semantics. My work has been applied to both humanitarian relief and environmental intelligence.
Current positions
Senior Lecturer
School of Geographical Sciences
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
Research interests
I am a Lectuer in Spatial/Geographical Data Science. Broadly speaking, I study how humans and machines organize spatial knowledge, as well as their interactions with the environment. More specifically, I combine theory-informed (e.g. geography and semantics) and data-driven (e.g. machine learning and spatial statistics) approaches to address geospatial challenges such as geospatial data interoperability, spatial predictions, and spatial reasoning. My work has been applied to a wide range of applications, including urban studies, public health, environmental modeling, as well as humanitarian relief.
My research topics include:
- Geospatial knowledge graphs
- GeoAI
- Geospatial semantics
- Geographic Information Science and Spatial Data Science
- Spatial Statsitics
- Spatially explicit machine learning
At the University of Bristol, I am the Programme Director of MSc in Geographic Data Science and Spatial Analytics, and Director of PhD in Geographic Data Science. I am also the Path Lead of Advanced Quantitative Methods at ESRC's South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP).
I am recruiting self-motivated talents to pursue PhD degree or postdoctoral study about any topics relevant to my research expertise/interest. There are multiple funding sources you could apply if you consider to study with me. Don't hesitate to keep in touch by sending your CV and proposal.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Responding to Natural Disasters Leveraging Geospatial Knowledge Graph and GeoAI
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
01/01/2025 to 31/12/2026
An Atlas of Economic Activities in the UK: tapping into web archives for social science research
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
01/11/2024 to 31/10/2025
Gambling Marketing AI Detection And Blocking Tool
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Geographical SciencesDates
01/09/2024 to 31/08/2025
Publications
Recent publications
01/01/2024People, places and a pandemic
Geography and A Geographer
Direct kriging
Journal of Hydrology
GPT, large language models (LLMs) and generative artificial intelligence (GAI) models in geospatial science
International Journal of Digital Earth
On the Opportunities and Challenges of Foundation Models for GeoAI (Vision Paper)
ACM Transactions on Spatial Algorithms and Systems
Fast Forward from Data to Insight
Handbook of Geospatial Artificial Intelligence