Dr Hongyu Zhang (张宏宇）

I am a Lecturer (tenured Assistant Professor) in optimisation for machine learning and AI at University of Southampton. I work in the operational research group in the School of Mathematical Sciences.

I hold a PhD in operational research. I am interested in the development of optimisation models, solution algorithms and machine learning and AI tools aimed at addressing the complexities of large-scale energy system planning problems.

My passion is to advance the field of energy system modelling, contributing to the energy transition by providing valuable insights that inform energy and climate policies and facilitate decision-making processes.

Call for papers

Special issue "Interfaces between AI and decision-making under uncertainty" in Computational Management Science. Submission deadline: 15 December 2025.  Co-editing with Dr Alan King, Professor Enza Messina, and Dr Vincent Leclère.

I am actively looking for PhD students with a strong background in optimisation, machine learning and AI, and quantum computing and an ambition to develop novel methodologies and tools to aid the energy transition. 

I have the following PhD positions that welcome applications. If you are interested, please contact me via email with a CV included. 

1. Techno-economic modelling of sustainable data centre integration in the European energy system funded by the SustAI CDT.

2. Quantum computing for large-scale stochastic optimisation in energy system planning, funded by the Quantum technology CDT.

3. Machine learning and optimisation for climate modelling and energy system integration, funded by the  MFC CDT.

4. Machine learning and stochastic optimisation for maritime anomaly behaviour identification, funded by the CISDnS.