W. P. Carey IS department welcomes 3 new faculty

Professors look forward to meeting their colleagues, students, and contributing to the information systems field.

This fall, W. P. Carey welcomed faculty members Jisu Cao, Kan Xu, and Jiding Zhang to the Department of Information Systems. Cao, Xu, and Zhang bring an enthusiasm for information systems (IS) to the Sun Devil community and look forward to their continued research and educating students in the IS field.

"I enjoy motivating students to reach their career goals," says Xu, assistant professor of information systems. "By sharing my experiences with failure and success, I hope to help my students succeed in whatever path they choose."

Jisu Cao

Question: What is your new role at W. P. Carey?

Answer: I am an assistant professor of information systems. As a researcher, I study how information technology (IT) has transformed the way we live our lives.

Q: What are you most excited about in this new role?

A: I'm excited about my role as a researcher and educator, and I look forward to sharing cutting-edge business analytics techniques with my students.

Q: What do you think is most exciting about your field?

A: The rapid speed at which technology is advancing. Every day, we push the boundaries of what we thought possible. I am honored to study how IT has transformed the way we live.

Q: What do you enjoy most about working with students?

A: There is no greater joy than witnessing a student's journey to success. It fills me with happiness to equip students with cutting-edge knowledge to empower them to jumpstart their careers.

Q: Where were you before coming to W. P. Carey, and where are you from?

A: I am from Beijing. My hometown has a rich history and vibrant culture and hosted the prestigious 2008 Beijing Olympics. Before coming to W. P. Carey, I was an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut.

Q: What do you like to do outside of work?

A: I love rock climbing. It's thrilling but also provides a sense of peace. The challenges of conquering rocky terrains and navigating tough routes focus my mind.

Q: What are you currently reading?

A: Tommy Caldwell's memoir, "The Push." He is one of the world's best climbers and the first person to conquer the formidable Dawn Wall, a 915-meter mountain face in Yosemite National Park.

Kan Xu

Q: What are you most excited about in your new role?

A: Everything: A new city, school, and wonderful colleagues. My transition from PhD student to a faculty member means more responsibilities and opportunities. I'm ready to embrace new challenges at W. P. Carey.

Q: What does your research entail?

A: My research focuses on developing novel machine learning algorithms for data-driven decision-making practices, emphasizing bandits, multitask learning, and high dimensional statistics while providing safe machine learning solutions. My research is motivated by real-world business applications in health care operations, textual analytics, and dynamic pricing.

Q: What do you think is most exciting about your field?

A: IS is always at the frontier of novel and impactful topics in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), and all kinds of real-world applications utilize evolving research. I'm excited to contribute to and learn from the IS community.

Q: Where were you before coming to W. P. Carey, and where are you from?

A: I earned my PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. I am originally from Shanghai, China's financial center and one of its most modern cities. Most importantly, it's where all my beautiful memories are from.

Q: What do you like to do outside of work?

A: I like spending quality time with my family and dog, Bingo. I also watch YouTube and play card games and the Nintendo Switch.

Q: What are you currently reading?

A: Research papers, just kidding! I'm reading "Counseling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure" by Robert de Board. It's the story of a depressed toad's journey through counseling to understand his emotions better. As a PhD student, I sometimes felt frustrated by my life and research. Sometimes, I still struggle and am interested in understanding what causes these feelings. This book has helped. I want to emphasize that PhD students should reach out for help if they are struggling.

Jiding Zhang

Q: What is your new role at W. P. Carey?

A: I am an assistant professor of information systems. I'm passionate about developing and applying data science tools to solve novel challenges in business. My research focuses on practical insights and recommendations for fintech (financial technology), platform governance, and media in the digital age through causal inference and machine learning methods.

Q: What are you most excited about in this new role?

A: Working at W. P. Carey has been my dream as an IS researcher. I am eager to learn from my new colleagues and contribute to my community.

Q: What do you think is most exciting about your field?

A: IS is exciting because it's about how we view and make better use of developing technologies. This field is always on the frontier of new technologies.

Q: What do you enjoy most about working with students?

A: Students help me learn by exposing me to new perspectives.

Q: Where were you before coming to W. P. Carey, and where are you from?

A: I'm from Shanghai, China. Before coming to W. P. Carey, I completed my PhD at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and was an assistant professor at New York University Shanghai.

Q: What do you like to do outside of work?

A: I am a big fan of Nintendo games, and I'm learning to longboard.

Q: What are you currently reading?

A: The work-related book I'm reading is "The Book of Why" by Judea Pearl. It's about how causality has revolutionized science and AI. For pleasure, I'm reading Stephen Westaby's memoir "Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table" about his experiences as a heart surgeon.