I am on the 2026–2027 academic job market.

I am a final-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, advised by Professor Raed Al Kontar.

Publications

Agentic LLMs for Data Science

Harnessing agentic large language models to automate and augment data-science workflows.

NeurIPS 2026Chen, Q., Zhou, J., & Al Kontar, R. (2026). "Language-Induced Priors for Domain Adaptation." Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), to appear. [Preprint]
Working PaperChen, Q., & Al Kontar, R. "Building Explainable Digital Twins with Large Language Model Agents: A Hypothesis Bottleneck for Trustworthy Simulation." Working paper.

Design of Experiments

Adaptive and optimal experimental design via Bayesian optimization, bandits, and sequential testing.

Technometrics · QPRC Invited TalkChen, Q., & Al Kontar, R. (2026). The Traveling Bandit: A Framework for Bayesian Optimization with Movement Costs. Technometrics, 68(2), 239-250. [DOI]
TechnometricsChen, Q., Jiang, L., Qin, H., & Al Kontar, R. (2025). Multi-agent collaborative Bayesian optimization via constrained Gaussian Processes. Technometrics, 67(1), 32-45. [DOI]
Reject & Resubmit · Operations ResearchChen, Q., & Al Kontar, R. "Online Learning of Optimal Sequential Testing Policies." Reject & Resubmit at Operations Research. [Preprint]
Major Revision · TechnometricsChang, C. Y., Chen, Q., Gao, T., Fenning, D., Okwudire, C., Dasgupta, N., Lu, W., & Kontar, R. A. (2026). "Collaborative Contextual Bayesian Optimization." Major revision submitted at Technometrics [Preprint]
Major Revision · npj Advanced ManufacturingOkia, O., Qian, C., Das, V. M., Uddin, M. A., Hussain, M. W., Hurd, A. C., Wang, Y.-P., Song, H., Chen, Q., Gao, T., Palmer, J. R., Lu, W., Fenning, D., Okwudire, C., Al Kontar, R., & Dasgupta, N. "Towards Scalable Manufacturing of Laminated Perovskite Solar Cells Through Automated Rolling and Bayesian Optimization." Major revision submitted at npj Advanced Manufacturing.

Human-AI Interaction & Trust

Designing and evaluating AI for high-stakes human decisions in healthcare.

INFORMS J. Data ScienceChen, Q., Al Kontar, R., Nouiehed, M., Yang, X. J., & Lester, C. (2025). Rethinking cost-sensitive classification in deep learning via adversarial data augmentation. INFORMS Journal on Data Science, 4(1), 1-19. [DOI]
JMIRTsai, C.-C., Kim, J. Y., Chen, Q., Rowell, B., Yang, X. J., Al Kontar, R., Whitaker, M., & Lester, C. (2025). Effect of artificial intelligence helpfulness and uncertainty on cognitive interactions with pharmacists: Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27. [DOI]
JMIR Human FactorsKim, J. Y., Rowell, B., Whitaker, M., Chen, Q., Al Kontar, R., Lester, C., & Yang, X. J. (2026). Effects of AI assistance timing on Pharmacists' trust in Automated Pill Recognition Technology: Within-participants experimental study. JMIR Human Factors, 13. [DOI]
JMIR Human FactorsKim, J. Y., Marshall, V. D., Rowell, B., Chen, Q., Zheng, Y., Lee, J. D., Al Kontar, R., Lester, C., & Yang, X. J. (2025). The effects of presenting AI uncertainty information on Pharmacists' trust in Automated Pill Recognition Technology: Exploratory mixed subjects study. JMIR Human Factors, 12. [DOI]
JMIR Medical InformaticsLester, C., Rowell, B., Zheng, Y., Co, Z., Marshall, V., Kim, J. Y., Chen, Q., Al Kontar, R., & Yang, X. J. (2025). Effect of uncertainty-aware AI models on pharmacists' reaction time and decision-making in a web-based mock medication verification task: Randomized controlled trial. JMIR Medical Informatics, 13. [DOI]
JMIR Formative ResearchZheng, Y., Rowell, B., Chen, Q., Kim, J. Y., Al Kontar, R., Yang, X. J., & Lester, C. A. (2023). Designing human-centered AI to prevent medication dispensing errors: Focus group study with Pharmacists. JMIR Formative Research, 7. [DOI]

Proposal Contributions

  • NIH: Preventing Medication Dispensing Errors in Pharmacy Practice with Risk-sensitive Artificial Intelligence. 2026; Funded.
  • NSF MSI: Collaborative Research: Collaborative Sequential Experimentation for Bio-Additive Manufacturing Systems. 2026; Funded.
  • NSF CDS&E: Collaborative Research: Digital Twin-Enabled Closed-Loop Discovery of Enhanced Interfacial Superconductivity. Under Submission.

Teaching

Instructor of Record, University of Michigan

  • IOE 570: Experimental Design (Evaluation: 4.4/5)

Graduate Student Instructor, University of Michigan

  • IOE 265: Probability and Statistics for Engineers (Evaluation: 4.4/5)

Teaching Assistant, University of Pittsburgh

  • ENGR 0020: Probability and Statistics for Engineers

Vocational Instructor

  • Machine Learning in Python
  • Introduction to Investment Banking

Services

  • IOE Graduate student coordinator (Term 2024-2026)
  • Board Member of the IOE Student Leadership Board (SLB)
  • Organizing Committee for MSSISS 2024
  • Social Committee Chair of the INFORMS student chapter at UM (Term 2025)
  • IOE Graduate Application Mentoring Program (GAMP) mentor
  • Journal Referee for:
    • Technometrics
    • Journal of Quality Technology (JQT)
    • INFORMS Journal on Data Science (IJDS)
    • Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Transactions
    • Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing (JIM)
    • IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering (TKDE)
    • International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI)
    • The Engineering Economist

Education

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  • Ph.D. Candidate in Industrial & Operations Engineering
  • M.S.E. in Industrial & Operations Engineering
  • M.A. in Applied Economics

SCU-PITT Joint Program

  • B.S. in Industrial Engineering - University of Pittsburgh
  • B.E. in Industrial Engineering - Sichuan University

Awards & Fellowships

  • IOE Bonder Fellowship for dissertation research in applied OR, University of Michigan
  • Rackham Conference Travel Grant, University of Michigan
  • Outstanding Graduate, Sichuan University
  • Allias/Holzman Teaching Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh
  • Dean's Honor List, University of Pittsburgh
  • Dean's List, Sichuan University