Regular biography
Can Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Operations Management area at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. His research centers on responsible and sustainable operations, with an emphasis on underserved populations and emerging markets. An overarching theme of his work is to study how distinctive operational challenges in these settings shape the design of operational policies and interventions. His work spans both underserved populations as consumers (improving access to essential products and services in nonprofit and healthcare settings) and as producers (improving outcomes in smallholder supply chains). His research is grounded in close collaboration with industry partners, and he aims to deliver actionable insights and implementable solutions to make a practical impact. His work has received multiple recognitions, including the winner for the 2021 MSOM Best Paper Award, the 2019 MSOM Award for Responsible Research in OM, the 2017 MSOM Practice-Based Competition, the 2017 MSOM Student Paper Competition, the 2017 INFORMS Doing Good with Good OR Student Paper Competition, an honorable mention for the 2019 INFORMS George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award, and a finalist for the 2022 Public Sector Operations Research Best Paper Award, the 2017 INFORMS Franz Edelman Award, and the 2015 INFORMS George Nicholson Student Paper Competition.
Scholar-generated biography
Can Zhang is an operations management scholar at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, with a focus on responsible operations and emerging markets. His research explores the intersection of operations management with social responsibility, particularly in healthcare and humanitarian contexts. Zhang's work addresses challenges such as inventory management in blood banks, medical surplus recovery, and sustainable sourcing in agriculture. He also investigates the role of human intermediaries in sharing platforms within emerging markets. His research emphasizes practical applications, including analytics-based methods for improving blood collection operations and strategies for mitigating shortages of essential medical products.