Four Top Scholars Join Faculty
School welcomes experts in AI, machine learning and data analytics methods
This summer, four talented and dynamic scholars who earned their Ph.D.’s from Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, the University of Michigan and the University of Washington joined the Graduate School of Management’s community.
“The foursome shares a common interest in quantitative methods spanning big data, machine learning and AI in their research specializations,” said Dean H. Rao Unnava. “We look forward to collaborating and learning from our fantastic new colleagues.”
Sebastian Calonico, Bita Hajihashemi, Yuan Yuan and Helen Zeng bring research expertise in personalization and targeted marketing, digital economics, behavior and dynamics within social and organizational networks, and applying econometrics to address issues in public and health policy.
With the arrival of the four new assistant professors, the Graduate School of Management’s senate faculty now numbers 32 and 40% are women.
Meet Assistant Professor Bita Hajihashemi
New applications and impacts of AI in marketing
Originally from Iran, Hajihashemi joins UC Davis from the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University, where she was an assistant professor of marketing. She focuses on the impacts and implications of AI in marketing and the perils of personalized pricing.
Her research interests span two major domains:
- The applications and impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing, particularly personalization and targeted marketing.
- Customer relationship management, relationship marketing, complaint management, and effective loyalty program and retention strategies.
She explores these topics using a variety of research methods, including game theory, empirical modeling, machine learning and causal inference.
She investigates how companies can leverage abundant customer data and technological advancements to better understand their customers and design and offer personalized pricing, products, and promotional offers.
She is interested in both the strategic decisions related to targeted marketing and customer relationship management and their broader implications for society, including firms, customers, and policymakers. Her work examines issues such as firm profitability, consumer surplus, and regulations governing targeted marketing.
Currently, Hajihashemi is researching the main drivers of complaint-induced churn and targeted retention strategies, as well as exploring the characteristics of complainers and churners.
Hajihashemi is using game theory to analyze the impact of personalization and customization in markets for durable goods, focusing on the strategic design of durable goods and the selling (buying) vs. leasing decisions from both firms' and customers' perspectives.
Hajihashemi earned her bachelor's in chemical engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. She also holds a Ph.D. in management science, marketing, from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.
Outside academia, she challenges herself both outdoors and at home, trying new camping spots or expanding her culinary skills.
“I love exploring unusual local places and sometimes embrace the discomfort of living in a tent, camping for days,” she said. “I’m also passionate about cooking and enjoy experimenting with dishes from different cuisines—in fact, I’ve made meals from 11 different cuisines so far! Additionally, I’m a big fan of café and restaurant hopping, always on the lookout for new spots to try.”
“I also have a strong interest in photography and often capture great photos during my walks,” she added. “I'm planning to pursue this passion further by taking a class and investing in a professional camera.”
Learn more about Bita Hajihashemi
Meet Assistant Professor Sebastian Calonico
Developing novel methods to address key issues in public and health policy
After five years as an assistant professor at Columbia University, Sebastian Calonico is starting the next stage of his career in economics research and teaching here at UC Davis.
Calonico's research combines econometrics and data science to develop and apply novel statistical methods aimed at addressing key issues in public and health policy, and business analytics, with a particular interest in program evaluation and causal inference methodology.
Calonico's work has been published in leading journals in economics, statistics and health, including Econometrica, Review of Economics and Statistics, Bernoulli, Journal of the American Statistical Association, and Journal of the American Medical Association. The interdisciplinary nature of his work has also led to several awards and a significant impact among applied and methodological researchers. He also leads numerous national and international workshops on program evaluation and causal inference methodology.
He holds four degrees in economics and statistics. He completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Universidad de Buenos Aires and a Master of Arts in Economics at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. He later received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan, where he also obtained a Master of Arts in Statistics.
Colonico was born and raised in Haedo, Argentina, which he describes as “a small but beautiful town in the suburbs of the City of Buenos Aires.”
He’s a big football fan—soccer, not the NFL. “I love watching and playing soccer and I am a true fan of my home country team (River Plate), for which I haven’t missed a broadcast game since I left Argentina almost 20 years ago. I still smile everyday about Argentina becoming World Cup Champion in 2022.”
He’s looking forward to the Northern California climate and outdoor recreation. “As a good Argentinian, I am also a big grilling fan, I could BBQ every day,” he said. “I also enjoy biking as well, especially with my two kids, Nayla and Enzo. I am excited to join the biking community at Davis.”
Lean more about Sebastian Calonico
Meet Assistant Professor Yuan Yuan
Thought leadership at the nexus of engineering, social science, and business
Yuan Yuan has worked at both Microsoft and Meta and joins UC Davis from Purdue University where he was an assistant professor. He harnesses big data and advanced computational methodologies, such as machine learning and causal inference, to scrutinize behavior and dynamics within social and organizational networks.
His expertise extends to experimentation, where he innovates computational techniques to tackle real-world challenges encountered by A/B testing practitioners. He’s also exploring the capabilities of Large Language Models in aiding social science studies.
Yuan's academic expertise is complemented by an interdisciplinary background spanning engineering, social science, and business.
His research contributions have been recognized in prestigious journals such as PNAS and Nature Communications, and he has presented at top-tier management and computer science conferences including WWW and EC.
His collaborative endeavors include partnerships with leading technology companies like Microsoft and Meta, blending rigorous academic research with practical industry applications. Yuan has also contributed as a visiting researcher at Microsoft Office of Applied Research and as a research intern at Facebook Core Data Science (now Meta Central Applied Science).
Yuan’s academic journey began with earning his Ph.D. from the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, following a dual bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics from Tsinghua University.
When he’s not crunching big data sets, Yuan spends time on new recipes and outdoor adventures—and teaching his pets to be entertainers!
"I’m a huge fan of spicy food,” he said. “I love experimenting with all kinds of hot peppers and whipping up fiery recipes in the kitchen."
At home, he’s trying to teach his pets how to sing. “They’re hard-working students, even if they haven’t quite mastered the notes yet!"
He’s also discovering Northern California’s thousands of miles of world-renowned scenic trails. "Since moving to California, hiking has quickly become my new favorite hobby,” he said. “Exploring the diverse trails here is always an exciting adventure!"
Meet Assistant Professor Helen Zeng
Exploring accountability for societal harms in digital markets
Devoted to research-guided activism to inform policy against human trafficking, Helen Zeng’s portfolio of research lies in the intersection of digital economics, technology and policy. Her vision is to bridge technology and policy, by engaging firms, institutions and regulators in understanding how to create and deliver “virtuous" digital products for business and society.
Zeng's research explores the role of stakeholder accountability in the context of new technological innovations.
Specifically, Zeng’s research seeks to address three key questions:
- What are the societal impacts of technological innovation and emerging technologies?
- Why should businesses and other relevant institutions invest in responsible innovation and engage early in regulatory considerations?
- How should entrepreneurs and regulators adapt to technological advancements to safeguard against potential harms while ensuring technology serves the common good?
She employs mixed methods in her research, including econometrics, structural models, and causal inference with machine learning. Helen earned her Ph.D. in Information Systems & Management from the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Statistics and Math from the University of Hong Kong, and a Master of Arts in Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences from Columbia University.
She is a member of the Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars (GAHTS), K&L Gates Presidential Fellow in Ethics and Computational Technologies. Her research won the 2024 William W. Cooper Doctoral Dissertation Award, 2022 George Duncan Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies for the Second Research Paper and 2020 Suresh Konda Best First Student Research Paper Award from the Heinz College.
One of Zeng’s most recent personal accomplishments involved a long cycling trek for a great cause. “I rode my bike 330 miles from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. to raise funds for Haiti in 2022,” after the devastating earthquake that caused the deaths of 2,200 people and injured 12,700 more.
