People / Students / Class of 2026
Zhihan (Mars) Hu graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2025 with a major in Economics and Data Science and a minor in Business Finance. During his undergraduate study, Zhihan developed a strong background in data science and programming. The courses he took equipped him with skills such as Python, C++, SQL, and R. These programming and analytical skills enable him to build machine learning and deep learning models. All these abilities allow Zhihan to explore and apply data science in various domains, especially in healthcare and finance.
In school, he worked as the group leader to develop the most suitable machine learning model to achieve early diagnosis of breast cancer based on medical and pathology data such as tumor radii, concavities, and textures. Zhihan collected, cleaned, and pre-processed datasets to ensure high-quality inputs for predictive models. He also tasked group members with testing different ML models. Finally, they built a KNN model that achieved a 99.3% accuracy rate on the testing dataset. Outside the classroom, Zhihan participated in a research project at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the summer of 2024, contributing to the development of a healthcare-focused large language model. He was responsible for collecting and cleaning healthcare-related social media data to train the model. To prepare high-quality data, he applied natural language processing techniques such as TF-IDF and sentiment analysis, and used both R and Python to visualize trends and evaluate information accuracy. Zhihan also has experience in combining data science with finance. Earlier in 2024, he interned at Guosheng Securities to explore how data science techniques could be applied in the financial domain. During the internship, he conducted in-depth analysis of stock market trends and financial instruments using time-series analysis, regression modeling, Monte Carlo simulations, and factor analysis. He also applied portfolio optimization methods to develop investment strategies and helped compile market research reports with actionable insights. These hands-on experiences helped Zhihan prepare to tackle various challenges in his future studies and career.
Outside of academics, Zhihan enjoys playing sports such as soccer, badminton, and Frisbee. He especially loves soccer, both playing it and following matches. In his free time, he also finds joy in discovering new cuisines, watching movies, listening to music, and traveling. He is excited to be joining the MLDS program at Northwestern and to contribute his interdisciplinary and global mindset to his classmates.
