I am a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where I am fortunate to be advised by Prof. Qiaomin Xie. I also collaborate closely with Prof. Yudong Chen, Prof. Ruihao Zhu, and other outstanding colleagues. Before coming to Madison, I earned a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Nankai University.
My research develops mathematical foundations for learning and decision-making in stochastic systems, combining applied probability and algorithm design. My research interests center on two complementary directions:
Distributional theory of stochastic algorithms — Characterizing steady-state distributions, fluctuations, and systematic bias to guide the design of more accurate algorithms.
Learning and adaptation in sequential decision-making — Developing algorithms that leverage imperfect data to reduce online experimentation and use satisficing objectives to avoid unnecessary adaptation.
At the intersection of these directions, I aim to use distributional analysis to determine how much learning and computation a satisfactory decision requires, particularly in AI-assisted operational systems.
Email: yzhang2554@wisc.edu
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I am on the 2026–2027 academic job market！