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Sainan ZHANG is a Postdoctoral Associate at George Washington University. She received her PhD. degree from Dalian University of Technology, China, and a Bachelor’s degree from Henan University. Previously she worked as a Research Assistant at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from March 2022 to March 2024, and as a Lecturer at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics from November 2019 to July 2021. Her research interests include Stochastic Programming, Distributionally Robust Optimization, Preference Robust Optimization, and Power System Operations.

Publications

1. Qiong Wu, Wei Wang, Sainan Zhang, and Huifu Xu. Bi-Attribute Utility Preference Robust Optimization: A Continuous Piecewise Linear Approximation Approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 323(1):170-191, 2025.

2. Jian Hu, Dali Zhang, Huifu Xu and Sainan Zhang, Distributional utility preference robust optimization models in multi-attribute decision making, Mathematical Programming, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10107-024-02114-y, 2024.

3. Shaoyan Guo, Huifu Xu, Sainan Zhang, Utility Preference Robust Optimization with Moment-Type Information Structure, Operations Research, 72(5):2241-2261, 2024.

4. Sainan Zhang, Shaoyan Guo, Liwei Zhang, Hongwei Zhang. On Distributionally Robust Optimization Problems with k-th Order Stochastic Dominance Constraints Induced by Full Random Quadratic Recourse. Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, 493(2), 124564, 2021.

5. Sainan Zhang, Shaoyan Guo, Liwei Zhang, Hongwei Zhang. Quantitative Stability of Two Stage Distributionally Robust Risk Optimization Problem with Full Random Linear Semi-Definite Recourse. Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, 485(2), 123812, 2020.

6. Sainan Zhang, Shaoyan Guo, Hongwei Zhang, Liwei Zhang. Quantitative Stability of Full Random Two Stage Problems with Quadratic Recourse. Optimization, 68(8):1551-1576, 2019.

Working Papers

1. “Wildfire-Driven Distribution System Operation: New Chance-Constrained Model with Decision-Dependent Probabilities”, with Miguel Lejeune, Payman Dehghanian, 2025.

2. Sainan Zhang, Shaoyan Guo, Melvyn Sim, Huifu Xu. Modified Polyhedral Method for Elicitation of Shape-Free Utility and Conservatism Reduction in Robust Optimization. under review, 2025.

3. Sainan Zhang, Huifu Xu, Hailin Sun. Statistical Robustness of Kernel Learning Estimator with Respect to Data Perturbation. under review, 2024.

4. Sainan Zhang, Erick Delage, and Huifu Xu. Adaptive Preference Elicitation in Preference Robust CPT-Based Shortfall. under review, 2022.

Reviewer of Journals

1. Mathematical Programming

2. Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications

Seminar Presentations

1. Utility Preference Robust Optimization with Moment-Type Information Structure, Department of Mathematics, GWU, November 2024.

2. Preference Robust Optimization When Information on Utility is Incomplete, Department of Decision Sciences, GWU, February 2025.

3. Wildfire-Driven Distribution System Operation: New Chance-Constrained Model with Decision-Dependent Probabilities, BAAICB Conference, March 2025.

4. New Chance-Constrained Model with Decision-Dependent Probabilities with Application in Power System, Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research, GMU, April 2025.

5. Application of Chance-Constrained Optimization with Decision-Dependent Probabilities to Power Distribution Systems, SIAM DMV Conference on Applied Mathematics, April 2025.

Awards

1. Excellent Graduate in Liaoning Province, 2019

2. Excellent Graduate in Dalian University of Technology, 2019

3. The National Scholarship, 2018.11

4. The National Scholarship, 2012.11

Contact me

Email: snzhang.m@gmail.com, sainan.zhang@gwu.edu

Updated on April 28, 2025