Hello! I am Zhi (see how it’s pronounced), a fourth-year PhD candidate of Operations Research at Cornell Tech, where I am lucky to be advised by Professor Nikhil Garg.

My research interest can be broadly summarized as identifying and addressing disparities in societal systems, using techniques from machine learning and optimization, in order to improve their efficiency while promoting equitable usage. Things I have worked on during my PhD studies include college admission, 311 systems. I am incredibly fortunate to have worked with the New York Public Library as part of the PiTech PhD Fellowship program during the Summer of 2023.

Previously, I obtained my BE in Industrial Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2020, with a Minor in Applied Statistics. During my undergrad, I worked on various things including application of network interdiction problem, scheduling in hospitals, and a numerical solver for PDEs.

Outside of office, you will most likely find me hiking, rock climbing/working out, or taking photos of the beautiful world around me. If you are interested in the theory of optimization algorithms and mathematics of data science, check out some amazing work by my partner Tao.