Blockchain Operations, Operations Research, Operations Management Supply Chain Management, Wireless Communications

Rachel Q. Zhang is Chair Professor of IEDA at the School of Engineering and ISOM at the School of Business and Management. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences in 1994 from Northwestern University and was previously a faculty member in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at University of Michigan, and the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Her research has appeared in such journals as Operations Research, Management Science, Mathematics of Operations Research, Manufacturing and Service Operations, Advances in Applied Probability, Interfaces, Production and Operations Research, IIE Transactions, and Naval Research Logistics.

• Research Grants Council Grant No. 16500023, 2024-2025, “Machine Learning-Based Queueing Priority Rules for Multiclass, Multi-Server Pools”, HK$420,327 (Co-I, Jiheng Zhang)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 16200821, 2022-2024, “Resource Allocation in Competitions with Correlated Attributes”, HK$815,601, PI
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 16200019, 2020-2022, “Online Demand Fulfillment in E-commerce”, HK$869,898, PI
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 16200617, 2018-2020, “Asymptotic Analysis of Inventory Problems with High Dimensional State Spaces”, HK$875,000, PI (Co-I, Jiheng Zhang)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 16201417, 2018-2020, “Brownian Control with High Dimensional State Space”, HK$582,000, Co-I (PI: Jiheng Zhang)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 16500615, 2016-2018, “Operations Management of Shared Networks in Wireless Communications”, HK$695,800, PI, (Co-I, Jiheng Zhang)
• University Research Infrastructure Grant No. FSGRF15EG06, 2014-2016, “A queueing approach to spectrum management”, HK$50,000, Co-I (PI: Jiheng Zhang)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 622713, 2014-2016, “The Impact of Consumer Learning on a Firm's Pricing and Inventory Strategies in a Repeated Purchase Market with Strategic Consumers”, HK$645,500, PI (Co-I, Qian Liu)
• National Natural Science Foundation of China No. 71301032, 2014-2016, “The Impact and Preventive Strategies of Deceptive Counterfeits in a Supply Chain with Multiple Channels”, ¥205,000, Co-I (PI: Jie Zhang)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. T32-620/11, Theme-based Research Scheme, 2011-2016, “Transforming Hong Kong's Ocean Container Transport Logistics Network”, HK$13,000,000, Co-I (PI: C.Y. Lee)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 622811, 2012-2015, “The impact of the timing of customer payments on dynamic pricing and inventory decisions”, HK$892,000, PI (Co-I, Qing Li)
• HKUST Special Research Fund Initiative Grant No. SRFEG18, 2011-2014, “Ocean Container Transport: Making Global Supply Chain Management Effective”, HK$1,000,000, Co-I (PI: CY. Lee)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 622510, 2011-2013, “Group Buying (tuangou) under Quantity Discounts”, HK$787,000, PI
• HKUST Research Project Competition Grant No. RPC10EG25, 2011-2013, “Water Resources and Water Related Hazards under Climate Change”, HK480,000, Co-I (PI: Y.K. Tung)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 622608, 2009-2011, “Should purchasing activities be outsourced along with production”, HK$331,000, PI (Co-I Kaijie Zhu)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 622406, 2007-2010, “The impact of counterfeiting”, HK$534,000, PI (Co-I: Jeff Hong)
• Research Grants Council Grant No. 621750, 2006-2008, “The Impact of Financial Uncertainties on Inventory”, HK$360,000, PI
• Direct Allocation Grant No. DAG04/05.EG05, 2004-2005, “Strategic management of backorders”, HK$100,000, PI
• US NSF Faculty Early Career Development Grant No. DMI-9501740: 1995-2001, “Easily Implementable Policies for the Design of Spare Parts Inventory Systems”, $213,000, PI
• US NSF Grant: DMI-0100511, 2001-2004, “Collaborative Research: Managing Material Flow and Cash Flow in the Supply Chain”, $257,000, PIs: R. Zhang and J. Birge
• Waypointe Companies Grant and NSF matching funds: $30,000, PI
• Rackham Faculty Research Grant No. 386584, University of Michigan: 1995-1996, $15,000, PI
• Engineering Research Center Grant (with J. Birge, I. Duenyas, K. Stecke), University of Michigan: $140,000
• TMI (Tauber Manufacturing Institute) Faculty Fellowship (with V. Ramaswamy and I. Duenyas), University of Michigan: 1999-2002, $120,000, PIs: V. Ramaswamy and R. Zhang

• Chonawee Supatgiat (co-advisor with John Birge): Graduated in September 1999. Position upon graduation: Analyst, Enron Corporation.
• Hyun-soo Ahn (co-advisor with Izak Duenyas): Graduated in December 2000. Position upon graduation: Assistant Professor, Department of IEOR, University of California, Berkeley.
• ​Katia Frank Graduated in September 2002. Position upon graduation: Research Scientist, Delta Airlines.

• Jie Zhang Graduated in August 2010. He was awarded the second price at the First POMS-HK International Conference’s Best Student Paper Competition in 2009. Position upon graduation: Assistant Professor, School of Business Administration, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics.
• Xi Yang Graduated in August 2010. She was awarded the first price at the First POMS-HK International Conference’s Best Student Paper Competition in 2009. Position upon graduation: Lecturer, Tourism College, Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao. Currently, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Macao.
• ​Li Li  Graduated in June 2014. He was awarded the second price in the POMS-HK International Conference Best Student Paper Competition in 2012. Position upon graduation: Assistant Professor, Department of Logistics Engineering and Management, Lingnan College, Sun Yet-Sen University.
• Shining Wu Graduated in August 2014. He was awarded an honorable mention at the POMS-HK International Conference Best Student Paper Competition in 2014. Position upon graduation: Assistant Professor, Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
• Zhen Xu (co-advisor with Jiheng Zhang) Graduated in August 2017. He was awarded the first price at the POMS-HK International Conference’s Best Student Paper Competition in 2017. Position upon graduation: Postdoc Fellow, Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia University, and Assistant Professor, Department of Management Science,  School of Management, Fudan University since 2020.
• Hailun Zhang (co-advisor with Jiheng Zhang) Graduated in 2018. He was awarded an honorable mention at the POMS-HK International Conference Best Student Paper Competition in 2017. Position upon graduation: Assistant Professor, Institute for Data and Decision Analytics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen.
• Weiwen Wang (co-advisor with Qi Qi) Graduated in 2019. Position upon graduation: Data Analyst, Alibaba Group.
• Guangyuan Zhang (co-advisor with Jiheng Zhang) Graduated in 2021. Position upon graduation: Research Engineer, Huawei. 
• Jiahao He (co-advisor with Jiheng Zhang)  Graduated in 2022. Position upon graduation: Trader, JP Morgan, Hong Kong.
• Zhihao Li (co-advisor with Jiheng Zhang) 
• Shize Li (co-advisor with Wei Jiang) 

• Associate Editor: IIE Transactions (2005-present)
• Senior Editor: Production and Operations Management (2008-present)
• Associate Editor: Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (2004-2005,  2006 as Guest Associate Editor, 2007-2008, 2021- present)

• Program Chair: POMS-Hong Kong Conference, 2017
• Committee Chair: IIE Pritsker Doctoral Dissertation Award, 2011-2013
• Committee Chair: IIE Transaction (Scheduling and Logistics) Best Paper Award, 2006
• Program Chair: INFORMS International Conference 2006, Hong Kong
• Co-Chair: POMS International Conference, Sydney, Australia, 2017
• Co-Chair: Contributed Sessions for INFORMS International Conference, Hawaii, June 2016
• Co-chair: Stochastic Modeling and Optimization of Manufacturing Systems and Supply Chains Workshop Honoring John Buzacott, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, June 2002
• Co-Chair: INFORMS MSOM (Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society) Conference, Ann Arbor, MI, 2000
• MSOM Cluster Co-Chair: INFORMS Conference in Seattle, fall 1998

• President: POMS - Hong Kong Chapter, 2017 - 2019
• Vice President: POMS - Hong Kong Chapter, 2015-2016
• Secretary/Treasurer (elected): INFORMS MSOM Society, 2001-2002
• Secretary (elected): INFORMS Women in OR/MS (Operations Research/Management Science), 1999-2000

• Committee Member: Multi-Echelon Conference, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006
• Committee Member: MSOM Conferences, 2008 - 2010
• Session Chair (Invited or Sponsored Sessions) for INFORMS meetings
• Conference Discussant:
• Integrated Risk Management in Operations and Global Supply Chain Management, Syracuse University, August, 2010
• Integrated Risk Management in Operations and Global Supply Chain Management, University of Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 2006
• Multi-Echelon Conference, Georgia Institute of Technology, June 2006

• Committee Member: The fourth JFIG (Junior Faculty at INFORMS Forum) Paper Competition, 2006
• Committee Member: IIE Pritsker Dissertation Award, 2008 - 2013
• Committee Member: POMS SCM Student paper competition, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017
• Committee Member: INFORMS Nicholson Paper Competition, 1999, 2000, 2001
• Committee Member: INFORMS MSOM Student Paper Competition, 2000
• Panelist: National Science Foundation, 2000
• Review Panel Member: MSc Program in Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012

• Member of the Transport Logistics Training Board: 2010 - 2012

• Director: Master of Technology Management-Global Logistics Management Program (executive program), 2006 - 2007
• Co-director: Master of Technology Management-Global Logistics Management Program (executive program), 2005 - 2006
• Member: University Appointments and Substantiation Committee, 2013 – 2015
• Member: School of Engineering Appointments and Substantiation Committee, 2011 – 2013
• Member (elected): Senate Committee on Academic Integrity, HKUST, 2010 - 2019
• Member: Dual Degree Teaching Faculty Appointments Committee, 2013 – 2017
• Member: Dual Degree Program Search and Appointments Committee, 2012 - 2014
• Chair: Departmental Search and Appointment Committee, 2017 – present
• Chair: Departmental Appointments and Substantiation Committee, 2017 - present
• Member: Departmental Appointments and Substantiation Committee, 2010 – 2017
• Member: Departmental Merit Review Committee, 2010 - present
• Member: Administrative Committee of the MSc in Engineering Enterprise Management Program, 2016 - 2018
• Member: Task Force for Research, School of Engineering, 2009
• UG Committee: 2004 - 2010
• PG Committee: 2011 - present
• Final Year Project coordinator: 2005 - 2010
• Seminar coordinator: 2008 - present

• IEDA3250: Operations Research II (UG)
• IELM341: Global Supply Chain Management (UG)
• IELM523: Deterministic Models in Operations Research (PG)
• IELM525: Stochastic Models in Operations Research (PG)
• IELM630: Advanced Stochastic Models (PG)
• IELM680H: Departmental Seminar (PG)
• EEMT512: Operations/Production Management (MSc)
• MTMG570: Management Science (Executive)

1. J. He, G. Zhang, J. Zhang, R.Q. Zhang (2023), Blockchain Operations in the Presence of Security Concerns, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 25(3) 1117-1135.


2. J. He, J. Zhang and R.Q. Zhang (2022), A Reduction from Linear Contextual Bandits Lower Bounds to Estimations Lower Bounds, Proceedings of the 39^th International Conference on Machine Learning, PMLR 162, 8660-8677.


3. Z. Xu, H. Zhang, J. Zhang, and R.Q. Zhang (2020), Online Demand Fulfillment under Limited Flexibility, Management Science, 66 (10) 4667-4685.


4. Z. Xu, J. Zhang and R.Q. Zhang (2020), Instantaneous Control of Brownian Motion with a Positive Lead Time, Mathematics of Operations Research, 44 (3) 943-965.


5. S. Wu, J. Zhang and R.Q. Zhang (2018), Management of a Shared Spectrum Network in Wireless Communications, Operations Research, 66 (4), pp. 1119-1135.


6. S. Wu, Q. Liu and R.Q. Zhang (2015), The Reference Effects on a Retailer's Dynamic Pricing and Inventory Strategies with Strategic Customers, Operations Research, 63 (6), pp. 1320-1335.


7. G. Chen, R. Roundy, R.Q. Zhang, and L. Robinson (2015), New Sufficient Conditions for (s, S) Policies to be Optimal in Systems with Multiple Uncertainties, Operations Research, 63 (1), pp. 186-197.


8. A. Sapra, V.Truong, and R.Q. Zhang (2010), How Much Demand Should Be Fulfilled?, Operations Research, 58, pp. 719-733.


9. K. Zhu, R. Q. Zhang and F. Tsung (2007), Pushing Quality Improvement along Supply Chains, Management Science, 53 (3), pp. 421-436.


10. R. Chen, R. Roundy and R. Q. Zhang, G. Janakiraman (2005), Efficient Auction Mechanisms for Supply Chain Procurement, Management Science, 51 (3), pp. 467-482.


11. R. Kapuscinski, R. Q. Zhang, P. Carbonneau, R. Moore, B. Reeves (2004), Inventory Decisions in Dell's Supply Chain, Interfaces, 34 (3), pp. 191-205.


12. H. Ahn, I. Duenyas and R. Q. Zhang (2004), Optimal Control of Flexible Servers, Advances in Applied Probability, 36 (1), pp. 139-170.


13. J. A. Buzacott, R. Q. Zhang (2004), Inventory Management with Asset-Based Financing, Management Science, 50 (9), pp. 1274-1292.


14. K. Frank, R. Q. Zhang, and I. Duenyas (2003), Optimal Inventory Policies in Systems with Priority Demand Classes, Operations Research, 51 (6), pp. 933-1002.


15. M. J. Sobel and R. Q. Zhang (2001), Inventory Policies for Systems with Stochastic and Deterministic Demand, Operations Research, 49 (1), pp. 157-162.


16. M. L. Spearman and R. Q. Zhang (1999), Optimal Lead Time Policies, Management Science, 45 (2), pp. 290-295.


17. H. Ahn, I. Duenyas, and R. Q. Zhang (1999), Optimal Stochastic Scheduling of a Two-Stage Tandem Queue with Parallel Servers, Advances in Applied Probability, 31, pp. 1095-1117.


18. R. L. Smith and R. Q. Zhang (1998), Infinite Horizon Production Planning in Time Varying Systems with Convex Production and Inventory Costs, Management Science, 44 (9), pp. 1313-1320.


19. W. J. Hopp, M. L. Spearman, and R. Q. Zhang (1997),  Easily Implementable Inventory Control Policies, Operations Research, 45 (3), pp. 327-340.