Zeyi Sun, Ph.D.

Career Path

Dr. Zeyi Sun is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering and Technology at Western Carolina University. Prior to this role, he served as a Principal Investigator at Zhejiang Lab, a Principal Scientist at Mininglamp Technology, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T).

At Zhejiang Lab, Dr. Sun led a research team focused on automated data and knowledge extraction from scientific literature using large language models. During his tenure at Mininglamp Technology, he directed modeling and algorithm development to support a range of business initiatives, including AI-driven equipment diagnostics and prognostics, process control, recommendation systems, advertising effectiveness evaluation, detection of invalid advertising traffic, and budget allocation for digital advertising. At Missouri S&T, Dr. Sun’s academic research centered on system-level modeling and optimization for manufacturing and energy systems.

In addition to his academic and research roles, Dr. Sun has extensive industry experience with Fortune 500 manufacturing companies such as AGC, GKN Driveline, and Siemens. He has delivered impactful research outcomes in industrial automation to leading companies including General Motors, Eaton Corporation, and Siemens, contributing to increased productivity, reduced operational costs, and lowered carbon emissions.

Educations

Dr. Sun obtained his Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from University of Illinois at Chicago in 2015, Master degree in Manufacturing from University of Michigan Ann Arbor in 2010, and Bachelor degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Tongji University in 2002. 

Research Interests

Dr. Sun’s primary research interest lies in leveraging Operations Research (OR) modeling strategies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution methodologies—such as machine learning and reinforcement learning—to model, optimize, and control complex systems for intelligent decision-making. His work is applied across domains including marketing intelligence, smart manufacturing, smart grids, and sustainable energy systems. Specifically, Dr. Sun’s research has focused on the following topics: 

        ⮚      Joint control of both microgrid and manufacturing systems for energy cost optimality

⮚     Real time control of electric vehicle in smart grid for frequency regulation

⮚     Energy efficiency improvement using state-based dynamic control for manufacturing systems towards sustainability

⮚     Electricity demand response leveraging manufacturing plant as demand side resources

⮚     Complex manufacturing/onsite microgrid system simulation

⮚     Biofuel supply chain restructuring considering economic viability and environmental impacts

⮚     Routing planning for transmission line inspection using robots

⮚     Data extraction from research literature using large language model

⮚     Digital advertising: advertising budget allocation, sophisticated invalid traffic identification in online advertising, advertising effects attribution