I am a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Operations Management at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, affiliated with the Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society and the Maryland Language Science Center. I am very fortunate to be advised by Professor Wedad J. Elmaghraby. Prior to my doctoral studies, I earned a Master’s degree in Applied Statistics from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor and a dual Bachelor’s degree in Financial Management and Mathematical Statistics from Xiamen University.

Research Interests

My research studies how artificial intelligence can improve decision-making in operations, particularly in business environments shaped by human interaction and unstructured data. I focus on problems at the intersection of marketplace analytics, service operations, and AI for social good. Methodologically, I draw on optimization, causal inference, and machine learning—particularly natural language processing—to analyze unstructured data, uncover business insights, and tackle complex operations challenges.

Upcoming Talks

• INFORMS Advances in Decision Analysis Conference
  Escaping the Nash Trap: Structural Estimation and Alignment of Strategic Reasoning in Large Language Models
  June 22, 2026, 1:00-2:30
  PhD Incubator Session II, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

• INFORMS MSOM Conference
  AI Self-preferencing in Algorithmic Hiring: Empirical Evidence and Insights
  July 13, 2026, 2:45-4:15
  Session MC9:TIE - AI in Hiring and the Workplace, Hawes 201, Harvard Business School

• INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section Conference
  How Online Labor Matches Succeed or Fail: Evidence from Large-Scale Client–Freelancer Conversations
  July 22, 2026, 9:40-11:00
  Session: AI/LLM, Room 0220, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

• AI and Economics (AIE) Summer Conference
  Escaping the Nash Trap: Structural Estimation and Alignment of Strategic Reasoning in Large Language Models
  August 11, 2026, 1:20-1:40
  Room 021, Saieh Hall for Economics, The University of Chicago

Contact

Email: jiannan@umd.edu