Two Postdoctoral Scholars Awarded Fellowships

The Data Science Institute (DSI) is pleased to announce that two members of its Postdoctoral Scholars program have been awarded named fellowships in recognition of their exceptional research. The postdoctoral program is dedicated to advancing cutting-edge data science and AI approaches in foundational and interdisciplinary research, and these fellowships recognize outstanding scholars whose work exemplifies the highest standards of innovation and impact in data science and AI.

Ganghua Wang

Ganghua Wang has been awarded the Faraco Family Postdoctoral Fellowship, given by Francisco Faraco, who earned an MS in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago in 2004.

Ganghua joined the DSI in September 2024 and works with Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Data Science Haifeng Xu. His research focuses on trustworthy AI, bridging theoretical foundations with the development of practical algorithms. Recently, his work has concentrated on the security of generative models, particularly large language models, with the goal of building robust, reliable, and fair AI systems.

“Artificial intelligence, especially large generative models, is transforming every sector, making trustworthiness an urgent priority,” Ganghua noted. “This fellowship will allow me to advance a new generation of trustworthy AI systems, grounded in rigorous theory and designed with built-in guarantees for security, privacy, and reliability at scale.”

Prior to joining the DSI, Ganghua earned his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Minnesota, where he was advised by Professor Jie Ding and Professor Yuhong Yang.

Jingchao Fang

Jingchao Fang has been named a ZhengTong Postdoctoral Fellow. The ZhengTong Fellowship was established with generous support from the ZhengTong Group.

Jingchao joined the DSI as a postdoctoral scholar in September 2024 and is mentored by Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Data Science Mina Lee. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction, Social Computing, and AI. She focuses on designing AI-infused interactive systems that serve as cognitive scaffolds for humans in various scenarios, including learning and computer-mediated communication.

“This fellowship will support my research on interactive systems that augment human cognition,” Jingchao said. “Recent advances in artificial intelligence uncover new design opportunities that transform how people engage with information, whether for helping students learn more effectively or enabling richer forms of work collaboration.​ I’m excited to develop and evaluate tools that make a tangible impact on how people think and learn.”

Jingchao previously earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Davis and dual B.Sc. degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

“Fostering exceptional early-career researchers is central to the DSI’s mission, and Ganghua and Jingchao are outstanding examples,” said David Uminsky, Executive Director of the DSI. “Support like the Faraco and ZhengTong Fellowships is transformative for early-career scholars and allows them to conduct research that will shape how we build and interact with AI in the years to come.”

Congratulations Ganghua and Jingchao! We look forward to seeing what you do next!