Dr. Mimi Zhang
Assistant Professor, Statistics
Biography
Mimi Zhang joined TCD as an assistant professor in October 2017. She holds a B.Sc. in statistics from University of Science and Technology of China (Sep. 2007-Jul. 2011), and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from City University of Hong Kong (Nov. 2011-Dec. 2014). Before joining TCD, she was a research associate at University of Strathclyde and Imperial College London. Her main research areas are machine learning and operations research, including cluster analysis, Bayesian optimization, functional data analysis, reliability & maintenance (engineering), etc. She is the strand leader of the Data Science MSc programme and an AE for Journal of Classification.
Current PhD students:
- Guangchen Wang, 2023
- Samuel Singh, 2023
- Emmanuel Akeweje, 2023
- Jessica Bagnall, 2023, co-supervisor
- Sukriti Dhang, 2022, co-supervisor
Former PhD students:
- Joshua Tobin, thesis title "Consistent Mode-Finding for Parametric and Non-Parametric Clustering".
- Bernard Fares (part time), thesis title "Incorporating Ignorance within Game Theory: An Imprecise Probability Approach".
Teaching Activities
- 09/21-now: Introduction to Statistical Concepts and Methods (10 ECT), Coordinator
- 09/21-now: Implementing Statistical Methods in R (5 ECT), Coordinator
- 09/17-now: Software Application (5 ECT), Coordinator
- 09/17-08/21: Statistics Base Module (15 ECT), Coordinator
Software
- CPFcluster: https://pypi.org/project/CPFcluster/
- REMclust: https://pypi.org/project/REMclust/
- GPmix: https://github.com/EAkeweje/GPmix
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Emmanuel Akeweje and Mimi Zhang, Learning Mixtures of Gaussian Processes through Random Projection, Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2024), 41st International Conference on Machine Learning, Vienna, Austria, 21 - 27 July, 2024, 2024
Joshua Tobin and Mimi Zhang, A Theoretical Analysis of Density Peaks Clustering and the Component-wise Peak-Finding Algorithm, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 46, (2), 2024, p1109 - 1120
Joshua Tobin, Michaela Black, James Ng, Debbie Rankin, Jonathan Wallace, Catherine Hughes, Leane Hoey, Adrian Moore, Jinling Wang, Geraldine Horigan, Paul Carlin, Helene McNulty, Anne M Molloy and Mimi Zhang, Co-Clustering Multi-View Data Using the Latent Block Model, Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 2024
Sukriti Dhang, Mimi Zhang and Soumyabrata Dev, AdSegNet: A deep network to localize billboard in outdoor scenes, Signal, Image and Video Processing, 2024
Mimi Zhang and Andrew Parnell, Review of Clustering Methods for Functional Data, ACM Transactions on Knowledge Discovery from Data, 17, (7), 2023, p1 - 34
Bernard Fares and Mimi Zhang, Incorporating Ignorance within Game Theory: An Imprecise Probability Approach, International Journal of Approximate Reasoning, 154, (March), 2023, p133 - 148
Joshua Tobin, Chin Pang Ho and Mimi Zhang, Reinforced EM Algorithm for Clustering with Gaussian Mixture Models, Proceedings of the 2023 SIAM International Conference on Data Mining (SDM), 2023 SIAM International Conference on Data Mining (SDM), Minnesota, U.S., 27 - 29 April, 2023, 2023, pp118 - 126
Mimi Zhang and Bin Liu, Discussion of signature-based models of preventive maintenance, Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry, 39, (1), 2022, p54 - 56
Mimi Zhang, Matthew Revie and John Quigley, Saddlepoint Approximation for the Generalized Inverse Gaussian Levy Process, Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 411, 2022, p114275
Nuno Neto, Sinead O'Rourke, Mimi Zhang, Hannah Fitzgerald, Aisling Dunne and Michael Monaghan, Non-Invasive classification of macrophage polarisation by 2P-FLIM and machine learning, eLife, 11, 2022, pe77373
Mimi Zhang, Weighted Clustering Ensemble: A Review, Pattern Recognition, 124, 2022, p108428
Muhannad Ahmed Obeidi, Medad Monu, Cian Hughes, Declan Bourke, Merve Nur Dogu, Joshua Francis, Mimi Zhang, Inam Ul Ahad and Dermot Brabazon, Laser beam powder bed fusion of nitinol shape memory alloy (SMA), Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 14, 2021, p2554-2570
Min Xie and Mimi Zhang, Discussion of "Virtual age, is it real?", Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry, 37, (1), 2021, p30 - 31
Joshua Tobin and Mimi Zhang, DCF: An Efficient and Robust Density-Based Clustering Method, 2021 IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM), 2021 IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM), Auckland, New Zealand, 7 - 10 Dec, 2021, 2021, pp629 - 638
Mimi Zhang, A Heuristic Policy for Maintaining Multiple Multi-State Systems, Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 203, 2020, p107081
Mimi Zhang, Forward-Stagewise Clustering: An Algorithm for Convex Clustering, Pattern Recognition Letters, 128, 2019, p283 - 289
Mimi Zhang and Tim Bedford, Vine Copula Approximation: A Generic Method for Coping with Conditional Dependence, Statistics and Computing, 28, (1), 2018, p219 - 237
Mimi Zhang and Matthew Revie, Continuous-Observation Partially Observable Semi-Markov Decision Processes for Machine Maintenance, IEEE Transactions on Reliability, 66 (1), 2017, p202 - 218
Mimi Zhang and Min Xie, An Ameliorated Improvement Factor Model for Imperfect Maintenance and Its Goodness of Fit, Technometrics, 59 (2), 2017, p237 - 246
Mimi Zhang, Olivier Gaudoin and Min Xie, Degradation-Based Maintenance Using Stochastic Filtering for Systems under Imperfect Maintenance, European Journal of Operational Research, 245 (2), 2015, p531 - 541
Mimi Zhang, Zhisheng Ye and Min Xie, A Stochastic EM Algorithm for Progressively Censored Data Analysis, Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 30 (5), 2014, p711 - 722
Mimi Zhang, Zhisheng Ye and Min Xie, A Condition-Based Maintenance Strategy for Heterogeneous Populations, Computers & Industrial Engineering, 77, 2014, p103 - 114
Mimi Zhang, Qingpei Hu, Min Xie and Dan Yu, Lower Confidence Limit for Reliability Based on Grouped Data with a Quantile Filling Algorithm, Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 75, 2014, p96 - 111
Mimi Zhang, Min Xie and Olivier Gaudoin, A Bivariate Maintenance Policy for Multi-State Repairable Systems with Monotone Process, IEEE Transactions on Reliability, 62 (4), 2013, p876 - 886
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Mimi Zhang, Andrew Parnell, Dermot Brabazon and Alessio Benavoli, Bayesian Optimisation for Sequential Experimental Design with Applications in Additive Manufacturing, arXiv, 2021
Mimi Zhang and Matthew Revie, Model selection with application to gamma process and inverse Gaussian process, CRC/Taylor & Francis Group, European Safety and Reliability Conference 2016, Glasgow, UK, 25 " 29 Sep, 2016, 2016
Mimi Zhang, Zhisheng Ye and Min Xie, Optimal Burn-in Policy for Highly Reliable Products Using Inverse Gaussian Degradation Process, Proceedings of the 8th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM 2013) & the 3rd International Conference on Utility Management & Safety (ICUMAS), 8th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM 2013), Hong Kong, China, 30 Oct -1 Nov, 2013, 2013, pp1003 - 1011
Zhisheng Ye, Mimi Zhang and Xun Xiao, An inspection-maintenance strategy for heterogeneous systems with measurable degradation, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), Bangkok, Thailand, 10-13 Dec, 2013, 2013, pp1432 - 1437
Mimi Zhang and Min Xie, Degradation modeling using stochastic filtering for systems under imperfect maintenance, Chemical Engineering Transactions, Prognostics and System Health Management Conference (PHM 2013), Milan, Italy, 8-11 Sep, 2013, 33, 2013, pp7 - 12
Research Expertise
Description
My academic journey spans from a foundation in mathematical statistics during my undergraduate studies to a focus on optimization algorithms and their applications in my doctoral and postdoctoral research. This interdisciplinary background integrates mathematics, probability, statistics, and algorithms to address diverse challenges across sectors like manufacturing, materials science, and healthcare.
My primary research focus centers on cluster analysis, where I specialize in advancing methodological, theoretical, and computational approaches tailored to analyze various data types including multivariate, functional, and image data, among others. Functional data clustering is to find patterns in the subjects, where each subject is represented by a continuous function. Functional data clustering has a wide range of applications in many fields: in bioinformatics to group gene expression profiles, in econometrics to group economic time series, and in engineering to group vibrations of mechanical systems.
Complementing my work in cluster analysis, my research portfolio extends to Bayesian Optimization -- a methodology designed to find the maximum (or minimum) of an unknown function, often called the ''objective function'', which is typically expensive to evaluate and may be noisy or exhibit uncertainty. The goal is to iteratively select the next best point to evaluate in order to efficiently search for the optimal solution. My collaborations in Bayesian optimization with academic and industry partners have afforded me the opportunity to address real-world challenges, a pursuit that I find immensely rewarding and fulfilling.
Projects
- Title
- FLImagin3D: Fluorescent Lifetime Imaging Microscopy in Biomedical Applications
- Summary
- beneficiary of the 2021 MSCA Doctoral Networks FLImagin3D, working on fluorescence microscopy data analysis
- Funding Agency
- European Union
- Date From
- Jan/2023
- Date To
- Dec/2026
- Title
- AIM4HEALTH
- Summary
- artificial intelligence approaches to addressing mental health inequalities in Ireland through improved diet and lifestyle
- Funding Agency
- Higher Education Authority
- Date From
- Sep/2022
- Date To
- Feb/2024
- Title
- I-Form, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing
- Summary
- funded investigator for I-Form Phase 1, working on AM process feedback and control
- Funding Agency
- Science Foundation Ireland
- Date From
- Nov/2017
- Date To
- Oct/2023
- Title
- I-Form, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing
- Summary
- funded investigator for I-Form Phase 2, working on AM process feedback and control
- Funding Agency
- Science Foundation Ireland
- Date From
- Nov/2023
- Date To
- Oct/2029