Hi, this is J.J. Zhu. I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, at the Empirical Inference Department.

Research interests

In general, I am interested in decision-making and dynamical systems. More specifically, I am interested in the following technical topics.

  • Data-driven and robust optimization
  • Stochastic systems and model predictive control
  • Robustness in machine learning and reinforcement learning
  • Numerical optimization and analysis

I have two seemingly conflicting overarching goals:

  1. Making real-life robust multi-stage decisions using optimization, control, and data

    – second-class scholars (my current self included) publish papers and get cited by peers, first-class scholars get tested by reality and time

  2. Advancing mathematical theory that has absolutely no practical usage (at the moment)

    – insight must proceed applications

If you are a student looking for internship or research opportunities

Please write a short email and include:

  • CV/resume
  • 1-page research statement about the relevant projects and course works
  • Scanned transcripts of undergrad and graduate studies

learning and control