Current Group Members

Principal Investigator

 

Qi Zhang

Qi Zhang

Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, UMN
Graduate Faculty Member, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, UMN

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 2011
M.S., Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, 2012
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2016

E-mail: [email protected]
Links: CV | LinkedIn | Google Scholar


Ph.D. Students

 

Anurag Holani

Anurag Holani

B.Tech., Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 2021
M.S., Chemical Engineering, Cornell University, 2023

Joined group in Fall 2023

Research topic: Data-driven inverse optimization

Links: LinkedIn | Google Scholar

 

Jnana Sai Jagana

Jnana Sai Jagana

B.Tech., Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, 2021

Joined group in Fall 2021

Research topic: Coordination for electrification of the chemical industry

Links: LinkedIn | Google Scholar

 

Komal Kankani

Komal Kankani

B.E., Chemical Engineering, Thadomal Shahani Engineerng College, 2020
M.S., Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 2023

Joined group in Fall 2023, co-advised with Prof. Daoutidis

Research topic: Energy system optimization

Links: LinkedIn 

 

Anushka Mandal

Anushka Mandal

B.Tech., Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, 2022
Joint M.S., Aerosol Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay & Washington University in St. Louis, 2023

Joined group in Fall 2023, co-advised with Prof. Azarin

Research topic: Metabolic modeling

Links: LinkedIn 

 

Vishnu Sahu

Vishnu Sahu

B.Tech.-M.Tech., Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 2021

Joined group in Fall 2023

Research topic: Adjustable robust optimization

Links: LinkedIn | Google Scholar

 

Prahalad Srinivasan

Prahalad Srinivasan

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, 2022

Joined group in Fall 2022, co-advised with Prof. Hu

Research topic: Metabolic engineering and bioprocess optimization

Links: LinkedIn | Google Scholar

 

Weigu Wen

Weigu Wen

B.E., Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, 2022
M.E., Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, 2025

Joined group in Fall 2025

Research topic: Explainable optimization

Links: LinkedIn | Google Scholar


M.S. Students


Undergraduate Researchers


Visiting Scholars