About Sam Zhang
my email is shimian dot my last name at gmail.com
Pronouns: he/him.

My research is combines my love of mathematics with my desire for a more just world. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to bring these interests together as a postdoc at the Santa Fe Institute, working with Professor Cris Moore on various quantitative studies of the criminal legal system.

In Fall 2025, I will be joining the Complex Systems Center at the University of Vermont as an Assistant Professor of Statistics.

I received my PhD from the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the area of Science Policy, advised by Aaron Clauset.

During my PhD, I was a (2x) research intern with the MSR NYC Computational Social Science group and a Data Science & Human Rights Fellow with HRDAG. I have been recognized as a University of Chicago Rising Star in Data Science. Previously, I worked as a software consultant at Pivotal Labs, a software engineer at multiple startups including on a DARPA project, and as a Data Science for Social Good Fellow at the University of Chicago. I received my undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Psychology from Swarthmore College in 2014.

I am proud to have organized with United Campus Workers Colorado during my PhD. I served for three years as an officer on the Executive Board of CWA 7799.

Link to CV
Google Scholar
Github - twitter - bluesky

blank - academic - github