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Ray Li

Education & Career

Education & Professional Experience

From economics in Beijing to operations research at Columbia, and from fund analytics to sustainability data, I keep turning slow, manual processes into automated, data-driven tools.

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Higher Education

  1. Columbia University

    Master of Science in Operations Research

    New York, NY

    – (expected)

    GPA 3.95/4.00

    Highlights

    • Led the team modeling where to build and expand childcare facilities across New York State, writing Python and Gurobi models with a minimum-spacing constraint.
    • Presented safety-aware routing for Columbia's evening shuttle to managers from Columbia Transportation and Via; the model cut unsafe-zone wait times by 17.9% in simulation.
    • Built XGBoost and GraphSAGE models with a venture capital mentor to predict AI-startup success from investor networks.
    • Member of the Columbia Student Formula Racing Team (Low Voltage – Software).

    Relevant coursework

    • Optimization Models
    • Probability & Statistics
    • Stochastic Models
    • Simulation
    • Transportation & Supply Chain Analytics
    • Machine Learning
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Applied Analytics (Python, SQL, A/B Testing)

  2. Renmin University of China

    Bachelor of Economics

    Beijing, China

    –

    GPA 3.72/4.00

    Highlights

    • Harvard Summer School (2024): Economics of Innovation, grade A-.
    • Built a convolutional neural network that classifies land type from 30,000 satellite images for the Data Science final project.

    Honors

    • Scholarship of Social Work and Volunteer Model
    • Scholarship of Sports Model
    • Outstanding Student Leader

    Relevant coursework

    • Micro/Macroeconomics
    • Finance
    • Accounting
    • Statistics
    • Econometrics
    • Game Theory
    • Data Science (Regression, Machine Learning, Neural Networks)

Campus Leadership · Renmin University of China

  • Sports

    – · 1 yr 5 mos

    Training Captain

    Renmin University of China Cheerleading Team

    Team members
    50+
    National medals
    2
    Provincial medals
    3
    • Led daily strength, core, and cheerleading technique training for a team of 50+, checking in with each member on their physical and mental condition and rallying the team around shared goals.
    • Designed each semester's training plan and assessment structure.
    • Ran recruiting campaigns, team promotion, and tryouts for new members.
    • Led the team to two national and three provincial medals in cheerleading competitions.
  • Student Union

    – · 2 yrs 1 mo

    Head of Social Media & Digital Communications

    Student Association, School of Economics

    Photos per year
    2,000+
    Videos per year
    30+
    Entrants per contest
    100+
    • Led media operations producing 2,000+ photos and 30+ promotional videos a year, managing equipment, cloud storage, scripting, shoots, and editing.
    • Planned and hosted two campus-wide photography contests (100+ participants each), owning the budget, rules, registration, promotion, and judging by professional photographers.
    • Coordinated photo and video coverage of large school events, assigning positions, shot lists, and contingency plans across the team.