Dr. Zhang’s research primarily focuses on the cybersecurity of nuclear facilities, online monitoring & fault detection using data analytics methods, instrumentation & control, and nuclear systems modeling & simulation. She has developed multiple testbeds using both simulators and physical components to investigate different aspects of cybersecurity as well as process health management.

Research interests include instrumentation & control, autonomous control, cybersecurity, online monitoring, fault detection, prognostics, risk assessment, nuclear system simulation, data-driven models, and artificial intelligence applications.