About Me
Hi, I'm Yukun (Edward). Welcome to my website!
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I grew up in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, chasing horses and cows on the grassland. As a native to Mongolian culture, I speak 4 languages (Chinese Mandarin, Mongolian, English and Japanese). This year, I am also learning Korean to further expand my linguistic skills.
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As a Microsoft-certified data engineer and researcher with over 7 years of programming experience in Python and R, I aim to excel as a distinguished financial Machine Learning engineer. My research passion lies in the realms of large data information retrieval, Machine Learning algorithms and the reliability of Large Language Models (LLMs). Currently, I am studying the book "Reinforcement Learning: Theory and Algorithms" by Dr. Sham Kakade from Harvard.
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My career journey includes valuable experiences at boutique financial firms, including Merrill Lynch, BlackRock, and Wells Fargo. As a long-term value investor, I have maintained a 26% annualized return on my personal portfolio over the past five years. This success has enabled me to provide enough financial support to my family back in Hohhot.
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Beyond research and professional work, I enjoy teaching and many of my students still stay in touch with me over the years. Moreover, though raised in a traditional family, I am deeply committed to advocating for increased male involvement to promote women's leadership and have actively contributed to many conferences in these efforts in both the US and Canada.
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In my leisure time, I love playing badminton, running and road tripping. The top background photo on this website captures a moment from my journey along Highway No.1 near Big Creek Cove, during a memorable drive from San Diego to Seattle.
Education
- THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (UBC)
- Master of Data Science (MDS)
- Relevant Courses: Advanced Machine Learning & Statistics Modeling, Data Structure, Algorithms, Cloud Computing.
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES (UCLA)
- Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics
- Transferred from UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO (UCSD) majored in Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (Applied).
- Relevant Courses: Linear Algebra, Optimization, Differential Equations, Programming, Data Structure, Algorithms, Statistics.
Projects
I. Business Oriented Projects:
II. Finance Oriented Projects:
III. Miscellaneous Projects:
Certificate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
Teaching
- Supplemental Student Self-Organized Workshop for DSCI 525 Web and Cloud Computing, UBC - 2022 W II
- Google Cloud Platform Workshop & Demo (80%+ of MDS cohort RSVP)
- Student Services Workshop for Statistics, UBC (medium post last updated on 10/15/2023) - 2022 W I
- Instrumental Variables Estimation Workshop (150+ students RSVP at UBC)
- Math 115A Linear Algebra, UCLA - 2018 Fall
- Grading Reader (5.00/5.00 assessment review from the TAs and the professor)
- Coding in Finance Workshop Series hosted by the Undergraduate Business Society, UCLA - 2018 Spring
- Python Algorithms Workshop Series (120+ students enrolled at UCLA)
- Math 33B Differential Equations, UCLA - 2018 Winter
- Math Tutor (97.8% student recommendation)
- Math 181A Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I, UCSD - 2017 Spring
- R Code Workshops (90%+ of Math 181A students enrolled)
- Math 170A Introduction to Numerical Analysis, UCSD - 2017 Winter
- MATLAB Tutor (93.7% student recommendation)
- Econ 120B Econometrics B, UCSD - 2016 Fall
- Stata Tutor (96.1% student recommendation)
- Math 20D Introduction to Differential Equations, UCSD - 2016 Summer I
- MATLAB Tutor (91.6% student recommendation)
Activities
- Volunteer at the PwC x Microsoft Transformational AI Conference - 06/22/2023
- Contributor of the Women in Data Science Conference, Vancouver 2023 hosted by Microsoft & DataCan - 04/14/2023
- Volunteer at the Pacific Conference on Artificial Intelligence at UBC - 04/02/2023
- Member of the DataCan Network, Vancouver 08/2022 - Present
- Member of the UBC Japan Association 08/2022 - Present
- Contributor of the Wells Fargo Women in Leadership Event, San Francisco - 09/03/2021
- Committee of the Undergraduate Business Society, UCLA 09/2017 - 12/2018
- Semi-marathon Runner 01/2019 - Present
- Member of the Japanese Student Association, UCLA 09/2017 - 12/2018
- Member of Local Badminton Club 09/2015 - Present
Contact
I’m best reached through my email: ykzhang1211 [at] g [dot] ucla [dot] edu