Zhengyuan Zhu

Dr. Zhengyuan Zhu is the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professor of Statistics at Iowa State University, where he also serves as Director of the Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology (CSSM). He holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Mathematics from Fudan University.

Dr. Zhu’s research spans statistics, data science, and artificial intelligence, with methodological expertise in spatial and survey statistics, functional data analysis, and machine learning. His work integrates modern AI and statistical modeling to advance inference from complex, large-scale, and spatially distributed data. He applies these methods across domains such as environmental science, agriculture, remote sensing, and official statistics, with an emphasis on data integration and causal inference for large survey systems.

He has led numerous federally funded research projects, providing statistical, data science, and AI methodology support for major national programs, including the U.S. National Resources Inventory (NRI), BLM-Managed Lands Survey, and USDA-NRCS Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP).

A recognized leader in the intersection of statistics and data science, Dr. Zhu is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute. His contributions have significantly advanced the use of statistical and AI-driven data integration in natural resource management, environmental monitoring, and evidence-based policy.