Welcome to The University of Queensland, Lufan Zhang!

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Lufan Zhang as our new Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Lufan is one of our very own, having recently submitted her PhD thesis for examination at Swinburne University of Technology, supervised by CIRES Chief Investigator Associate Professor Paul Scifleet.

Her doctoral research was conducted in collaboration with partner organisation Astral, reflecting her strong engagement with industry-relevant, applied research.

“Undertaking my PhD with the support of CIRES at Swinburne, in collaboration with Astral Consulting, has been an incredibly rewarding and enriching journey. The industry-focused partnership offered invaluable real-world insights and created a dynamic environment that fostered both my academic development and professional growth. I am deeply grateful to everyone who supported and guided me along the way, and I am excited for the opportunity to continue exploring, innovating, and contributing to the field,” said Lufan.

At UQ, Lufan will join the CIRES team to contribute to innovative research on AI preparedness and the evaluation of AI deployments across public and private sector organisations. She will work closely with CIRES Director Professor Shazia Sadiq FTSE and Research Director Professor Marta Indulska on advancing impactful, responsible AI research.

“Lufan brings extensive experience in empirical research methods and working with industry. She is well positioned to direct her future research efforts towards AI readiness and I look forward to working with her on the important and interesting research questions in that area,” said Professor Sadiq.

We’re thrilled to have Lufan continue her journey with CIRES and look forward to the insights and impact she will bring.

Welcome Lufan!