Dr. Lu Zhang

Professor Zhang brings a wealth of expertise in education and business, supported by a robust educational background and substantial industry experience in architecting, designing, developing, and managing complex, large-scale software systems. Before joining National University, he spent thirteen years teaching computer science in the Department of Computer Science and business courses at the College of Business. His industry experience covers a diverse range of sectors, including telecommunications, banking, insurance, healthcare, video, facility management, and the internet. Throughout his 16-year career in the industry, Professor Zhang has worked with companies of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 100 corporations. He has held various positions, including consultant, software engineer, database administrator, technical manager, project manager, CTO, and COO. His professional roles have encompassed nearly every aspect of software development, such as requirements collection and analysis, systems engineering, project planning and management, design, development, performance tuning, system capacity planning, load building, integration and system testing, staging and implementation, deployment, training, and maintenance. Additionally, Professor Zhang has extensive experience in coordinating and managing offshore software development projects. Professor Zhang also has many years of entrepreneurial and business experience, particularly in the startup environment. In 2000, he co-founded HealthNautica.com, a technology company that developed internet-based platforms offering integrated, secure, and cost-effective management and e-commerce solutions for the healthcare industry. His professional background showcases his proficiency in strategic entrepreneurship, including business opportunity recognition, competitive market assessment, strategic organizational design and structure, securing seed and venture capital, successful business management, and exit strategies. Professor Zhang holds a B.E. in Computer Engineering from Shanghai Jiao-Tong University, often regarded by many as the MIT of China, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Iowa State University. He is a member of Delta Mu Delta and an honorary member of Sigma Beta Delta.