Yifan Yu is an assistant professor for the Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. His research centers on (1) the economics of artificial intelligence and machine learning; (2) business analytics leveraging online multi-modal and unstructured data (i.e., text, images, videos, networks, behavioral sequences); and (3) data analytics to facilitate volunteerism, sustainability, and social justice. He applies machine/deep learning, network analysis, econometric/game-theoretical modeling, and experimental methods to tackle questions in these fields.

As an accomplished academic researcher, Yu has published articles in respected journals such as Information Systems Research and MIS Quarterly. He also received several best paper awards or nominations at the top Information Systems conferences (e.g., INFORMS, CIST, and WITS). For academic services, he served as the reviewer for major information systems journals and conferences. He was named an editorial board member for the special issue “Analytical Creativity” for Information Systems Research in 2023. He received the Best Review Award at INFORMS Workshop on Data Science (WDS) in 2023.

He has teaching experience as an instructor of advanced business data mining, business data analytics, database management, business data communications, and introduction to information systems.

Prior to joining McCombs, Yu worked as an instructor at the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business. He also has several years of experience as a research analyst and applied scientist for companies such as Amazon and WeChat, as well as experience in management consulting firms such as BCG, Roland Berger, and Deloitte. Yu also co-founded an online platform company in the online-to-offline printing industry and worked as an entrepreneur for two years.

Yu attended Tsinghua University to earn a BBA in economics and administration and a master’s in management science. He also earned an M.S. in business administration and management and a Ph.D. in information systems, both from the University of Washington.