Zhiyu ZengShe/her/hers Postdoc AssociateOlin Business School Washington University in St. Louis Email: zengz [at] wustl [dot] edu
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Bio
I am currently working as a Postdoc Associate at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. In 2023, I earned my Ph.D. in Management Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University, where I was advised by Prof. Zuo-Jun Max Shen. Prior to this, in 2018, I completed my bachelor’s degrees in both Industrial Engineering and Business Administration, also at Tsinghua University.
I am on the 2024-2025 academic job market for a tenure-track faculty position.
Research Interests
My research provides innovative solutions to the challenges faced by online platforms, using real data from industry and data-driven causal methods. I specialize in integrating structural modeling, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to complement field experiments and reduced-form analyses.
My main industry partner is a top content-sharing platform, where boosting supply and demand is critical but challenging. A particular focus of my current work is providing solutions to increase both the supply and demand sides of these digital ecosystems. Collaborating with industry partners not only validates my findings but also allows my research to have a real impact on the industry.
ML and AI are important aspects of my research, such as recommender systems discussed in my job market paper. In the near future, I am interested in exploring how ML and AI can help solve important but challenging questions in business applications. My upcoming studies include using double machine learning to handle continuous treatment effect estimation and applying inverse reinforcement learning to manage dynamic structural model estimation.
News
| [09/2024] | I will present my job market paper at INFORMS 2024 during the Technology and Operations session on Tuesday, October 22, from 11:00 AM to 11:15 AM in Room Summit - 443. |
| [09/2024] | Our paper, "Deep Learning for Policy Targeting with Continuous Treatment," has been accepted to the 2024 Conference on Digital Experimentation at MIT. |
| [04/2024] | I accepted the invitation to serve as a session chair at the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting. |
| [01/2024] | I was invited to serve as a reviewer for Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. |
| [10/2023] | I entered the finalist and obtained the Honorable Mention in the 2023 MSOM Student Paper Competition. |
| [09/2023] | I was invited to give a plenary talk at the 13th annual China India Insights Conference, which was co-organized by Yale School of Management and Stanford University. |
| [09/2023] | I became a Post Doctoral Research Associate at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, where I also embraced the role of instructor, actively engaging with students in teaching capacities. |
| [05/2023] | I successfully defended my Ph.D. Thesis "Information-Based Nudges for Online Platforms: Evidence from Large-Scale Random Field Experiments." Thanks to the committee and everyone who has helped me along the Ph.D. journey! |
Publications
Published Papers
The Impact of Social Nudges on User-Generated Content for Social Network Platforms
Zhiyu Zeng, Hengchen Dai, Dennis Zhang, Heng Zhang, Renyu Zhang, Zhiwei Xu, and Zuo-jun Max Shen
Management Science 69.9 (2023): 5189-5208
[Paper]
Paper under Review
The Value of Customer-Related Information on Service Platforms: Evidence From a Large Field Experiment
Zhiyu Zeng, Nicholas Clyde, Hengchen Dai, Dennis Zhang, Zhiwei Xu, and Zuo-jun Max Shen
Major revision at Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
[Paper]
Working Papers
The Impact of Recommender Systems on Content Consumption and Production: Evidence from Field Experiments and Structural Modeling
Zhiyu Zeng, Zhiqi Zhang, Dennis Zhang, Tat Chan
Targeting Management Science
[Paper]
Deep Learning for Policy Targeting with Continuous Treatment
Zhiqi Zhang, Zhiyu Zeng, Ruohan Zhan, Dennis Zhang
Targeting Management Science
Work in Progress
Investigating the Long-Term Treatment Effect: Evidence From Field Experiment Termination and Resumption, with Zhiqi Zhang, Ruohan Zhan, and Dennis Zhang
Targeting Information System Research
Estimating with Reinforcement Learning: Advancing the Repeated Search Model, with Shuo Zhang, Xueming Luo, Dennis Zhang, and Tat Chan
Evaluating Gender Bias: Price Dynamics of Male and Female Depictions in NFT Markets, with Zhiqi Zhang and Dennis Zhang
Teaching
My academic training, industry experience as a data analyst, and teaching experience in Business Analytics and Operations programs have equipped me with the expertise to teach a wide range of courses. I have taught undergraduate, master, doctoral students, and working professionals both in person and online, and I am well-prepared to teach at various levels and in different formats.Instructor
Teaching Assistant
Guest Lecturer at my industry partner
Learn more about my teaching: student evaluations and courses I would like to teach
Awards
Service
- Journal Reviewer: Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
- Session Chair: 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting (scheduled), 2023 China India Insights Conference
- Judge: INFORMS BOM Best Working Paper Competition