Haslam College of Business - Business Analytics & Statistics Ph.D. Students

Vahid Disfani

Vahid is a BAS doctoral student and a UC Foundation Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Prior to joining UTC in 2017, he received his PhD in electrical engineering in 2015 and was a postdoctoral scholar in the Center for Energy Research at the University of California San Diego for two years. Disfani’s research interests include optimization, data analytics, and also artificial intelligence in energy systems, logistics and education systems. He currently has active research projects focused on optimal grid integration of distributed energy resources, optimal truckload planning and AI-powered student advising systems.

Jinyi Liu

Jinyi Liu is a doctoral student with research interests in the operations-marketing interface. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2021 and his master of arts in economics from the University of Rochester in 2022. He will be on the job market of 2025-2026.

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Dawson Maddox

Dawson Maddox is a doctoral student with research interests in predictive analytics. He earned bachelor of science degrees in chemistry and mathematics as well as a master’s in teaching at East Tennessee State University. Before joining the program, Dawson taught chemistry and physics at South Greene High School in Greeneville, Tennessee.

Pedro Masi

Pedro Masi is a doctoral student with a background in finance and business analytics. His research focuses on machine learning, causal inference, and natural language processing, with a particular interest in how artificial intelligence shapes the labor market and financial outcomes. He holds a Master of Science in Finance from the Duisenberg Honours Program in Finance & Technology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.  

Jaachinma Okafor

Jaachinma Okafor is a Ph.D. candidate in Haslam’s Department of Business Analytics and Statistics. She holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. Building on her strong technical foundation, Okafor began her professional journey in cybersecurity, where she developed specialized expertise in identity and access management, data protection and risk management. This unique combination of skills provides a foundation for her current academic focus: leveraging advanced data analytics to promote sustainable and responsible business practices.

Central to Okafor’s research is a profound commitment to generating tangible sustainability impacts that address real-world challenges. Her work focuses on developing innovative renewable energy servicing models that aim to improve access to affordable and reliable clean energy for residential homes in developing countries. One of her key research contributions proposes the concept of “energy as a service” to overcome traditional financial and infrastructural barriers that often limit energy affordability and reliability. This approach was tested using actual energy demand data collected from Nigerian households, demonstrating the feasibility and potential scalability of the model. This pioneering research is currently under revision for publication in the premier Production and Operations Management (POM) journal.

In addition to her work on renewable energy, Okafor explores strategies to incentivize voluntary emission reductions among suppliers. By aligning economic incentives with climate action goals, her research helps organizations design more effective programs that encourage sustainable practices throughout their supply chains. Furthermore, Okafor critically investigates the phenomenon of inclusion washing—the discrepancy between a firm’s publicly communicated commitment to inclusion and employees’ perceived inclusiveness of their workplace. Her research evaluates how such initiatives affect employees within an organization.

Abdullah Salau

Abdullah Salau is a doctoral student with a concentration in business analytics and statistics. His research interests lie in applied machine learning and supply chain analytics. He graduated from DePauw University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and actuarial science.

Cayson Seipel

Cayson Seipel is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Business Analytics and Statistics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has a background in data and computer science, and he worked as a business analyst on a software development team that developed software for manufacturing, delivery and sales companies. Seipel’s research interests include statistics and machine learning. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in data science from Middle Tennessee State University in 2023.

Adam Spannbauer

Lecturer

Office: Room – 221, Stokely Management Center

Email: aspannba@utk.edu

Phone: 865-974-4116

Adam Spannbauer, a graduate of the MSBA program who returned to the Haslam College of Business as business analytics and statistics (BAS) lecturer is now also pursuing his PhD in BAS. With industry experience from roles at Eastman and DataCamp, Spannbauer has developed a skill set in analytics, programming, and education. Since joining the BAS faculty in January 2022, he has distinguished himself by earning awards for excellence in teaching and outstanding commitment to students.

Tao Tao

Changqing Wang

Changqing Wang is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Business Analytics and Statistics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is currently exploring research interests in the fields of operations management. Wang obtained her bachelor’s degree in big data management and application from Southern University of Science and Technology in 2025.

Christy Xia

Christy Xia is a doctoral student with research interests in data mining, NLP and machine learning in labor markets and supply chain management. She holds a master’s degree in business analytics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was awarded a merit-based scholarship and nominated for the Graduate Excellence Award. She has a background in finance and data analytics, having obtained a bachelor’s degree with honors from George Mason University, where she received the Dean’s Finance Scholarship and published two articles for the CFA Institute. Xia has extensive teaching experience as a teaching assistant and research experience in the OSS Data Mining Project.

Haoqi Zhang

Haoqi Zhang obtained his master’s degree in electronic and computer engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2021 and his bachelor’s degree in applied physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2019. Before joining the BAS PhD program, he worked as a software engineer in a medical device company.