About

Short bio and expertise of Pingfan Hu

My name is Pingfan Hu, a PhD candidate in Systems Engineering at George Washington University, advised by Professor John Helveston. My work focuses on data science, quantitative modeling, and software development for human behavior and sustainable transportation. I develop open-source software for survey design and discrete choice modeling, and build full-stack research applications with , Python, Quarto, Shiny, and PostgreSQL. I also apply agentic AI engineering to design and deploy LLM-powered workflows that automate complex research and development tasks.

Check out my Resume and CV here:

Resume CV

Projects

My research projects are proudly funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

I have 2 focuses in my field of study:

  1. Development of open-source software for survey construction and data analysis. The surveydown package is an open-source, feature-packed platform for programmable and reproducible surveys, combining a Quarto UI, a Shiny web framework, and a PostgreSQL backend. It is designed to address the problems of version control, collaboration, and reproducibility in survey construction. The sdstudio package is a companion of surveydown, providing a GUI for survey building, preview, and easy SQL management.

  2. Researches on human behavior in transportation and sustainability using discrete choice models and data visualization. My smart charging adoption research is implemented with survey-based data analysis that studies BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) owners’ willingness to opt in smart charging programs. This is followed by the SMC economy analysis. The ultimate goal is to provide insights for policymakers and utilities to design better smart charging programs that benefit both the grid and BEV owners.

Other Sections

  • Blog: I write blog posts on this section, mainly for encapsulating my thoughts and ideas during my research. I also write tutorials and guides for the tools and packages I use or develop.
  • Papers: I collect my publications on this section, including journal papers, conference papers, and preprints.
  • Talks: I collect my conference talks on this section, including presentation slides and posters.

Expertise

Degrees

Skills

  • Agentic AI Engineering: Claude Code Workflows, AI Skill Authoring, Harness Design
  • Data Science: PostgreSQL, tidyverse, ggplot, Survey Design, Discrete Choice Modeling, Logit Modeling
  • Programming: R, Python, Git, SQL, Shell, JavaScript, App Development
  • Web Development: Quarto, R Shiny, HTML, CSS, Website Design and Deployment

Languages

  • Chinese Mandarin - Native language
  • English - Proficient technical writing and oral communication

Personal Life

Throughout the past years, I have traveled, lived, and worked in different countries, including China, USA, Australia, and Germany. I’m currently based in Greater Melbourne, Australia.

I am married and have a busy and enjoyable life with my wife. We have a cat named Pinocchio.

Pinocchio

Pinocchio