Lu Zhang

Lu Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computational Applied Mathematics and Operations Research at Rice University. She joined Rice in 2023 after serving as the Ju Tang Chu and Wu Ping Chu Assistant Professor at Columbia University's Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics. Zhang holds a Ph.D. in computational and applied mathematics from Southern Methodist University (2020) and has conducted summer research at Argonne National Laboratory (2018) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2019).

Her research focuses on numerical and theoretical analysis of partial differential equations (PDEs), particularly developing high-order discontinuous Galerkin methods for PDEs with physical and biological applications. Key areas include advective wave equations, seismic imaging, chemotaxis models, population dynamics, and inverse problems. Her work emphasizes energy-stable, computationally efficient algorithms and their theoretical underpinnings.

Zhang's recent publications (2021–2024) explore advanced numerical methods for wave equations, electromagnetic systems, and elastic media, with applications in geophysics, structural mechanics, and crime modeling. Her methods address challenges in high-order accuracy, stability, and computational efficiency across diverse scientific domains.

No scientific awards or grants are explicitly mentioned in the provided text. She currently advises no listed students but has extensive experience in collaborative research through national laboratory partnerships.