Summer Research Scholars

Xintong Wu

Xintong Wu is a student in the Class of 2025 at Duke Kunshan University, majoring in Computation and Design. Her interested research areas are digital design, digital market research, and metaverse. She hopes to delve into the dynamic interactions between technology and society in the future Web 3.0 era and explore the infinite possibilities that technology can bring. Through the research with Prof. Luyao Zhang, she hopes to create new digital virtual worlds that are decentered, interdisciplinary, and have infinite possibilities.

Yutong Quan

Yutong Quan is a rising senior student majoring in Political Economy with an Economics track. Interested research areas include blockchain governance, decentralized finance, and interdisciplinary fields of Artificial Intelligence and economics.

Colden Johnson

My name is Colden Johnson, I am a rising Sophomore student at Duke Kunshan University. I am considering a major in either Political Economy or Computation and Design with a track in Computer Science. My current research goals lie at the intersection of these two fields, and I am specifically interested in applying artificial intelligence and computation to address questions in the humanities.

Jiayi Wang

Jiayi Wang is a senior student at Duke Kunshan University majoring in Applied Math & Computational Science tracking in Math. He has a solid foundation in Data Science and excels in Math. He has done research in trading strategies and portfolio construction in the Chinese Commodity Market. He is working under the guidance of Prof. Luyao Zhang on machine learning for Blockchain Security and Privacy.

Yiyang Zhang

Yiyang Zhang is from the class of 2025, majoring in Computation and Design with tracks in Digital Media at Duke Kunshan University. She is designated a Summer Research Scholar for the summer of 2023 and awarded by the SRS program. Her research interest is NFT transaction, digital design, and media interaction. 

Yiyang Chen

Yiyang Chen is a junior student of Political Economy major with tracks in Economics. He is a member of the SciEcon Committee. His current research interest is crypto-crime and future governance. He is a DKU 2023 summer research scholar in Prof. Luyao Zhang's team.

Research Support Service Committee from SciEcon Insight Editorial Board

Wanlin Deng

Wanlin Deng is a sophomore majoring in Political Economy at Duke Kunshan University. She has a great interest and solid foundation in economics and computer science and is interested in the interdisciplinary study fields of computational economics. Her interest areas include blockchain and trust mechanisms. Under the guidance of Professor Luyao Zhang, she is committed to researching the impact of exchange bankruptcies on trust in the crypto world.

Xinyu Tian

Xinyu Tian is a graduate student at Duke University majoring in Computer Science. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Science after graduation and her academic interest lies in the intersection of AI and social sciences. She also serves as Chair of Communication at SciEcon CIC.

Zesen Zhuang

Zesen Zhuang is a graduate student at Duke University, specializing in Electrical & Computer Engineering. His research interests are centered on software engineering and computing. He intends to pursue a Ph.D. in ECE or CS. Moreover, he holds the position of Chair of Technology Development at SciEcon CIC.

Principle Investigator

Luyao (Sunshine) Zhang is Assistant Professor of Economics and Senior Research Scientist at the Data Science Research Center at Duke Kunshan University (DKU). Her current research interests are at the interplay of computational and economic science around the application of disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain and cryptography, and innovative computing. She has an abiding passion for interdisciplinary collaborations, especially for cutting-edge research of both profound insights and practical impacts, including computational economics and social science, crypto and token economics, behavioral and experimental economics, explainable and cooperative AI, and interdisciplinary big data. Her publications appear in economic and computational science journals and conference proceedings for general interest and beyond, including American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the World Economy, Nature Research Scientific Data, Springer Nature Social Indicators Research, Springer Nature Eastern Economic Journal, ACM CCS, AAAI/ACM AIES, Computing Conference, IEEE International Conference on Blockchain Proceedings, Remote Sensing, Journal of Digital Earth, Data and Information Management. She received Ph.D. in Economics at Ohio State University, supported by Presidential Fellowship and the National Science Foundation (NSF). She graduated from Peking University with a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Math and Applied Math. She holds certificates from the Blockchain Strategy program at Oxford University and Blockchain: Disruptive Technology program from MIT professional education and over 30 data science certificates. She is currently supported by National Science Foundation in China for her research agenda entitled “Trust Mechanism Design on Blockchain: An Interdisciplinary Approach of Game Theory, Reinforcement Learning, and Human-AI Interactions.” She was awarded the 60 Pioneers in Blockchain Innovation by the National Collegiate Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Innovation Alliance in 2022. She also won the Kunshan Shortage Talent Program in 2023 for her exceptional achievements in highly sought-after talents of scarcity. Know more about here on: https://scholars.duke.edu/person/luyao.zhang.