Zihan Tan's Homepage

I am an assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of University of Minnesota. Previously, I was a postdoc at DIMACS, and I obtained my PhD from University of Chicago, where I was advised by Prof. Julia Chuzhoy. You can find my CV here (last updated: July 2025).

My research interests lie in theoretical computer science, and more specifically graph algorithms. My research focuses on developing modern algorithms for processing massive graphs, especially from the following three aspects: 

(i) exploring the limit of graph compression;

(ii) studying graph problems in modern computational models (e.g. sublinear, dynamic, distributed); and 

(iii) designing approximation algorithms for fundamental graph problems by exploring the interplay between structural graph theory and graph algorithms.

I am looking to hiring 1-2 PhD students  at UMN starting Fall 2026. Feel free to drop me an email if you want to work with me!

Email: ztan at umn dot edu; zihantan1993 at gmail dot com