Research

Research Interests

• Nonconvex Optimization

• Simulation Optimization

• Low-rank Matrix Optimization

Publications (*=euqal contribution)

1. Exact Recovery Guarantees for Parameterized Non-linear System Identification Problem under Adversarial Attacks
   Haixiang Zhang, Baturalp Yalcin, Javad Lavaei, Eduardo Sontag, submitted, 2024.

2. Exact Recovery for System Identification with More Corrupt Data than Clean Data
   Baturalp Yalcin, Haixiang Zhang, Javad Lavaei, Murat Arcak, submitted, 2024.

3. Distributionally Robust Joint Chance-Constrained Optimal Power Flow using Relative Entropy
   Haixiang Zhang*, Eli Brock*, Javad Lavaei, Somayeh Sojoudi, submitted, 2024.

4. Geometric Analysis of Matrix Sensing over Graphs
   Haixiang Zhang, Ying Chen, Javad Lavaei, Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), 2023.

5. Stochastic Localization Methods for Convex Discrete Optimization via Simulation
   Haixiang Zhang, Zeyu Zheng, Javad Lavaei, Operations Research, 2023.

6. Distributionally Robust Optimization for Nonconvex QCQPs with Stochastic Constraints
   Haixiang Zhang*, Eli Brock*, Julie Mulvaney-Kemp, Javad Lavaei, Somayeh Sojoudi, Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), 2023.

7. A New Complexity Metric for Nonconvex Rank-one Generalized Matrix Completion
   Haixiang Zhang, Baturalp Yalcin, Javad Lavaei, Somayeh Sojoudi, Mathematical Programming, 2023.

8. Gradient-based Algorithms for Convex Discrete Optimization via Simulation
   Haixiang Zhang, Zeyu Zheng, Javad Lavaei, Operations Research, 2022.

9. Factorization Approach for Low-complexity Matrix Completion Problems: Exponential Number of Spurious Solutions and Failure of Gradient Methods
   Baturalp Yalcin, Haixiang Zhang, Javad Lavaei, Somayeh Sojoudi, 25th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics (AISTATS), 2022.

10. Uniqueness of Power Flow Solutions Using Graph-theoretic Notions
    Haixiang Zhang, SangWoo Park, Javad Lavaei, Ross Baldick, IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, 2021.

11. Local and Global Linear Convergence of General Low-Rank Matrix Recovery Problems
    Yingjie Bi, Haixiang Zhang, Javad Lavaei, Thirty-Sixth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2022.

12. General Low-rank Matrix Optimization: Geometric Analysis and Sharper Bounds
    Haixiang Zhang, Yingjie Bi, Javad Lavaei, Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), 2021.

13. Stochastic L-Convex Function Minimization
    Haixiang Zhang, Zeyu Zheng, Javad Lavaei, Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), 2021.

14. On the Geometric Analysis of A Quartic-quadratic Optimization Problem under A Spherical Constraint
    Haixiang Zhang, Andre Milzarek, Zaiwen Wen, Wotao Yin, Mathematical Programming, 2021.

15. A Dynamical System Perspective for Escaping Sharp Local Minima in Equality Constrained Optimization Problems
    Han Feng, Haixiang Zhang, Javad Lavaei, Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), 2020.

16. Selection of the Best under Convexity
    Haixiang Zhang, Zeyu Zheng, Javad Lavaei, technical report, 2021.

Talks

1. Session on ‘‘Efficient algorithms for non-convex low-rank matrix optimization problems’’
   INFORMS Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, October 2023

2. Minisymposium on ‘‘Recent Advances in Stochastic Optimization Methods for Machine Learning’’
   SIAM Optimization Conference, Seattle, WA, June 2023

3. Guest lecture at ‘‘Numerical algorithms for nonlinear optimization and machine learning’’ course
   Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI), online, May 2023

4. Seminar of the Elite Program of Computational and Applied Math for Ph.D. Students
   Peking University, Beijing, China, September 2022

5. Session on ‘‘Efficient algorithms for non-convex low-rank matrix optimization problems’’
   INFORMS Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, October 2022

6. Session on ‘‘Reaching global optimum in non-convex optimization problems’’
   INFORMS Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA, October 2021

7. Seminar of the Elite Program of Computational and Applied Math for Ph.D. Students
   Peking University, Beijing, China, April 2019

8. Short talk at the Mathematical Programming Branch of Operation Society of China
   Beihang University (BUAA), Beijing, China, September 2018