Sam Zhang

PhD candidate, Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder

News: I will be joining the Santa Fe Institute as a postdoc in October 2024, and starting as an Assistant Professor of Statistics at the University of Vermont in Fall 2025.

I am a 5th year PhD candidate in applied mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

My research applies statistical and computational techniques towards advancing policy-relevant basic science about our social world, ranging from scientific decision-making to academic careers and global human rights. My advisor is Aaron Clauset.

During my PhD, I was a (2x) research intern with the MSR NYC Computational Social Science group and a Data Science & Human Rights Fellow with HRDAG. I have been recognized as a University of Chicago Rising Star in Data Science. Previously, I worked as a software consultant at Pivotal Labs, a software engineer at multiple startups, including one on a DARPA project, and as a Data Science for Social Good Fellow.

I am organizing to improve public higher education with my labor union, United Campus Workers Colorado, and currently serving my third term on the Executive Board of CWA 7799.