This year, the UD Alfred Lerner College welcomed several new faculty members into its community. Yu Zhu is an assistant professor of management information systems; he spoke with Lerner about his professional background and why he chose to teach at UD.
Lerner: What is your professional and academic background?
Zhu: Although I’m now a professor of information systems, my academic journey began in finance. I first earned a Ph.D. in finance in China, where my research already involved machine learning and big data analytics. For instance, we crawled product price data from B2B platforms to create a real-time CPI for monitoring the economy. We also predicted stock prices using sentiment analysis of investors’ online posts, which was quite innovative at the time – around ten years ago. By the time I graduated in 2018, I was certain that deep learning (which was less commonly referred to as “AI” back then) would dramatically reshape academic research and our daily lives. This realization led me to pursue a second Ph.D. in information systems, with a focus on computer science.
Lerner: What is your research focus?
Zhu: Broadly speaking, I apply and innovate AI methods to tackle business problems. In one project, we developed a new multi-task learning approach to predict stock price drifts after earnings announcements. In another ongoing project, we’re training a Large Language Model (LLM) to play the role of customer. This LLM will be used by a phone sales company, allowing new sales representatives to practice their skills by conversing with it. I’m also considering a project that uses LLMs to simulate the decision-making processes of different types of stock market investors. This kind of simulation could help us better understand how various market players respond to new developments in companies.
Lerner: What inspired you to work in your field/research/subject area?
Zhu: I’m fortunate to be in a unique position that bridges two fascinating areas: finance and AI. While it can be challenging to stay up-to-date with the rapid advancements in AI, this fast-paced evolution also offers endless opportunities for academic research. I find it incredibly exciting.
Lerner: What is it about UD that made you want to work/teach/research here?
Zhu: We have an outstanding MIS faculty here, especially in computational design science, with leading figures like Dr. Xiao Fang. The synergy between the MIS and accounting departments is inspiring, as it provides opportunities for enriching conversations with my colleagues in accounting. Newark is a small, cozy city, and its proximity to major metropolitan areas is a big plus.
Lerner: What course are you most excited to teach at Lerner?
Zhu: I’m not teaching in Fall 2024, but in Spring 2025, I’ll be teaching Unstructured Data Analytics, my first course at UD. This class will explore how to analyze text, images, and social networks. Given my expertise and passion for natural language processing, I’m really looking forward to it!
Lerner: What is something unique about you that may surprise your peers/students? (hobby, talent, experience etc.)
Zhu: I’m a huge tech enthusiast, and DIY projects are a big part of my life. I built my own water-cooled workstation from scratch, and I’ve set up a smart home using LED strips, motion detectors and Matter wireless controllers I bought on Amazon. Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of “hacking” into my own Tesla to see if I can maintain full access to it, even when someone else is driving it!