About

Zihan will be on the academic job market for the 2025–2026 cycle! 

Zihan Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate in Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech, advised by Professors Jianjun Shi and Kamran Paynabar. Her research focuses on tensor-based modeling, analysis, and control for high-dimensional streaming data, with diverse applications across semiconductor manufacturing, energy systems, and agriculture. She has published 10 journal papers (7 first-author), and her work has been recognized with best paper awards from organizations such as INFORMS, ASA, and IISE. Zihan has also been fortunate to receive several fellowships from professional societies, including ASA, IISE, ISA, ASQ, the Georgia Family Foundation, and the Novelis Innovation Hub at Georgia Tech, along with travel grants from INFORMS, ASA, and SIAM.

Beyond research, Zihan has served as a teaching assistant for 6 courses across 13 sessions at various academic levels. She was also a guest lecturer for 2 courses (4 sessions total) and developed a new course module titled "Tensor-based Prognostics and Control for Semiconductor Manufacturing", consisting of 8 lectures, which she has taught twice. In summer 2025, she will serve as the sole instructor for an undergraduate course.

Zihan is currently the co-chair of the INFORMS Education Outreach Committee K-12 Committee, where she initiated and secured two years of funding for the INFORMS Education Outreach and Networking Program and also launched STEM Spark: INFORMS K-12 Poster Competition. She was also the co-lead editor of INFORMS OR/MS Tomorrow. As president of the INFORMS Georgia Tech student chapter during the 2023–2024 academic year, she led the chapter to receive the highest honor—Summa Cum Laude distinction—and was personally awarded the 2024 INFORMS Judith Liebman Award.