Yu Zhang Eli
Logo Tsinghua University
Logo Zhipu AI (Z.ai), China
Logo Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, China

As a Master’s student at Tsinghua University ’s National School of Excellence in Engineering, my research focuses on large model such as LLMs and VLMs, and unsupervised anomaly detection models. I am currently a GLM-4 Pretraining Algorithm Research Assistant at Zhipu AI, focusing on enhancing the model’s performance in mathematical reasoning tasks through advanced techniques like Chain-of-Thought (CoT). I have also contributed to the development of cutting-edge algorithms such as Qwen and DeepSeek. In addition to my research experience, I lead a technical team under the National Key Research and Development Program (NKRDP), where we develop forecasting models to support strategic decision-making in the context of China’s dual-carbon goal. My leadership role at the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory led to the successful compression of the VIT visual model framework by 90%, maintaining accuracy. I have also worked at Pengcheng National Laboratory, contributing to AI algorithms for anomaly detection, and at Mercedes-Benz Group, where I helped optimize energy consumption in building systems using digital twin technology.

In parallel with my academic pursuits, I have a strong entrepreneurial background. I co-founded Nanjing Zhuyu Information Technology Co., Ltd., where I led multiple software development projects, gaining insights into big data processing, algorithm optimization, and market trends. My ability to convert research into practical applications has shaped my vision of creating user-friendly AI-driven solutions. I thrive in high-pressure environments, possess excellent multitasking skills, and enjoy collaborating with diverse teams to drive innovation. My interests include traveling, sports, and reading.


Education
  • Tsinghua University
    Tsinghua University
    National School of Excellence in Engineering , Master
    Sep. 2023 - present
Experience
  • Zhipu AI (Z.ai), China
    Zhipu AI (Z.ai), China
    GLM-4 Pretraining Algorithm Intern
    Nov. 2024 - Present
  • Peng Cheng Laboratory, China
    Peng Cheng Laboratory, China
    Research Intern, Algorithm Manager
    Feb. 2022 - Aug. 2023
  • Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, China
    Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, China
    Research Intern, Algorithm Manager
    June. 2023 - Nov. 2024
  • Tesla
    Tesla
    Youth Leader Representative at Tsinghua University
    MAR. 2024 - JULY 2024
  • Beijing Mercedes-Benz Automotive Co., Ltd., China
    Beijing Mercedes-Benz Automotive Co., Ltd., China
    Machine Learning and Digital Twin Algorithms Internship
    May 2024 - Oct. 2024
  • Yuheng New Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.
    Yuheng New Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.
    CEO & Chairman
    Mar. 2023 - present
  • Member of the public welfare rescue team
    Member of the public welfare rescue team
    Commander of the youth commando unit
    Mar. 2021 - present
  • Graduate Students Committee of Tsinghua University, the Communist Youth League
    Graduate Students Committee of Tsinghua University, the Communist Youth League
    Deputy Minister
    Mar. Sep. 2023 - Jul. 2024
  • The third class of the 21st grade of big data
    The third class of the 21st grade of big data
    Education counselor
    Mar. Sep. 2021 - Jul. 2023
Awards & Honors
  • Tsinghua University First-Class Scholarship
    2025
  • Tsinghua University Engineering Doctoral Forum Excellent Poster Award
    2023
  • The Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) * 2 — Finalist Award, top 1%
    2023
  • Hunan Province Outstanding Graduate
    2023
  • National College Student Algorithm Design and Programming Challenge — Gold
    2023
  • Software copyrights * 6, Utility model patent * 1, Patent for invention * 1
    2023
  • International “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition — Gold
    2023
  • China International College Students' Innovation Competition — Gold
    2023
  • Outstanding cadre, outstanding graduate of Hunan Province
    2023
  • National Inspirational Scholarship
    2022
  • Qingdao City Coronavirus Prevention and Control Hero Medal
    2021
  • International outstanding young volunteer
    2022
  • Advanced individual in academic research
    2022
  • Advanced individual in innovation and entrepreneurship
    2022
  • Network Technology Challenge — [First prize of Central China Division]
    2021
Publications (view all )
Ano2Rule: Rule-Based Global Interpretation for Unsupervised Anomaly Detection in Security
Ano2Rule: Rule-Based Global Interpretation for Unsupervised Anomaly Detection in Security

Ruoyu Li *-, Yu Zhang *, Qing Li, Nengwu Wu, Yong Jiang, Weizhi Meng, Laizhong Cui (* equal contribution)

IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing 2026 Received

Ano2Rule is a global interpretability method for unsupervised anomaly detection, which solves the opacity problem of black-box models through rule extraction. The method includes two core components: the internal clustering tree (IC-Tree) for decomposing complex data distributions into multiple sub-distributions, and the combined boundary exploration algorithm (CBE) for precisely inferring the decision boundaries of each sub-distribution. Experiments show that Ano2Rule has higher fidelity and robustness on real datasets such as network intrusion detection and Internet of Things security compared to baseline methods, while also supporting extended functions such as local interpretability and counterfactual explanations.

Ano2Rule: Rule-Based Global Interpretation for Unsupervised Anomaly Detection in Security

Ruoyu Li *-, Yu Zhang *, Qing Li, Nengwu Wu, Yong Jiang, Weizhi Meng, Laizhong Cui (* equal contribution)

IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing 2026 Received

Ano2Rule is a global interpretability method for unsupervised anomaly detection, which solves the opacity problem of black-box models through rule extraction. The method includes two core components: the internal clustering tree (IC-Tree) for decomposing complex data distributions into multiple sub-distributions, and the combined boundary exploration algorithm (CBE) for precisely inferring the decision boundaries of each sub-distribution. Experiments show that Ano2Rule has higher fidelity and robustness on real datasets such as network intrusion detection and Internet of Things security compared to baseline methods, while also supporting extended functions such as local interpretability and counterfactual explanations.

RM-PoT: Reformulating Mathematical Problems and Solving via Program of Thoughts
RM-PoT: Reformulating Mathematical Problems and Solving via Program of Thoughts

Yu Zhang, Changsong Lei

(arXiv) 2025 On Process

RM-PoT, a three-stage framework that integrates problem reformulation (RM), code-aided reasoning (PoT), and domain-aware few-shot learning to address these limitations. Our approach first reformulates the input problem into diverse surface forms to reduce structural bias, then retrieves five semantically aligned examples from a pre-constructed domain-specific question bank to provide contextual guidance, and finally generates executable Python code for precise computation.

RM-PoT: Reformulating Mathematical Problems and Solving via Program of Thoughts

Yu Zhang, Changsong Lei

(arXiv) 2025 On Process

RM-PoT, a three-stage framework that integrates problem reformulation (RM), code-aided reasoning (PoT), and domain-aware few-shot learning to address these limitations. Our approach first reformulates the input problem into diverse surface forms to reduce structural bias, then retrieves five semantically aligned examples from a pre-constructed domain-specific question bank to provide contextual guidance, and finally generates executable Python code for precise computation.

Dissect Black Box: Interpreting for Rule-Based Explanations in Unsupervised Anomaly Detection
Dissect Black Box: Interpreting for Rule-Based Explanations in Unsupervised Anomaly Detection

Yu Zhang, Ruoyu Li, Nengwu Wu, Qing Li, Xinhan Lin, Yang Hu, Tao Li, Yong Jiang

(NeurIPS) 2024 NeurIPS

This paper introduces the Segmentation Clustering Decision Tree (SCD-Tree) for interpretable rule-based explanations in unsupervised anomaly detection. The SCD-Tree dissects black-box models by clustering normal data distributions, integrating anomaly detection insights to enhance segmentation. The Gaussian Boundary Delineation (GBD) algorithm then refines these clusters, distinguishing normal from anomalous data with resilience to data drift. This method transforms complex anomaly detection into interpretable rules, demonstrated to improve explanation accuracy and robustness across various datasets, which is crucial for high-stakes fields such as network and IoT security.

Dissect Black Box: Interpreting for Rule-Based Explanations in Unsupervised Anomaly Detection

Yu Zhang, Ruoyu Li, Nengwu Wu, Qing Li, Xinhan Lin, Yang Hu, Tao Li, Yong Jiang

(NeurIPS) 2024 NeurIPS

This paper introduces the Segmentation Clustering Decision Tree (SCD-Tree) for interpretable rule-based explanations in unsupervised anomaly detection. The SCD-Tree dissects black-box models by clustering normal data distributions, integrating anomaly detection insights to enhance segmentation. The Gaussian Boundary Delineation (GBD) algorithm then refines these clusters, distinguishing normal from anomalous data with resilience to data drift. This method transforms complex anomaly detection into interpretable rules, demonstrated to improve explanation accuracy and robustness across various datasets, which is crucial for high-stakes fields such as network and IoT security.

Genos: General In-Network Unsupervised Intrusion Detection by Rule Extraction
Genos: General In-Network Unsupervised Intrusion Detection by Rule Extraction

Ruoyu Li, Qing Li#, Yu Zhang, Dan Zhao, Xi Xiao, Yong Jiang (# corresponding author)

IEEE INFOCOM 2024 - IEEE Conference on Computer Communications 2024 IEEE INFOCOM

Genos is an unsupervised anomaly-based network intrusion detection framework utilizing programmable switches for high-throughput, in-network deployment. Unlike existing solutions, Genos leverages rule extraction for model-agnostic detection, featuring a Model Compiler, Model Interpreter, and Model Debugger to enhance interpretability and maintainability. Through a tree-based clustering and divide-and-conquer approach, Genos partitions feature space into subspaces for accurate boundary estimation and reduces updating overhead by selectively fine-tuning affected subspaces. Evaluation on physical hardware shows its capabilities of achieving 100 Gbps throughput, high interpretability, and minimal maintenance costs.

Genos: General In-Network Unsupervised Intrusion Detection by Rule Extraction

Ruoyu Li, Qing Li#, Yu Zhang, Dan Zhao, Xi Xiao, Yong Jiang (# corresponding author)

IEEE INFOCOM 2024 - IEEE Conference on Computer Communications 2024 IEEE INFOCOM

Genos is an unsupervised anomaly-based network intrusion detection framework utilizing programmable switches for high-throughput, in-network deployment. Unlike existing solutions, Genos leverages rule extraction for model-agnostic detection, featuring a Model Compiler, Model Interpreter, and Model Debugger to enhance interpretability and maintainability. Through a tree-based clustering and divide-and-conquer approach, Genos partitions feature space into subspaces for accurate boundary estimation and reduces updating overhead by selectively fine-tuning affected subspaces. Evaluation on physical hardware shows its capabilities of achieving 100 Gbps throughput, high interpretability, and minimal maintenance costs.

Interpreting Unsupervised Anomaly Detection in Security via Rule Extraction
Interpreting Unsupervised Anomaly Detection in Security via Rule Extraction

Ruoyu Li, Qing Li#, Yu Zhang, Dan Zhao, Yong Jiang, Yong Yang (# corresponding author)

(NeurIPS) 2023 NeurIPS

This paper introduces a post-hoc interpretability method for unsupervised anomaly detection in security by leveraging rule extraction. We propose distribution decomposition rules using an Interior Clustering Tree and Compositional Boundary Exploration (CBE) algorithm to decompose normal data distributions and approximate model decision boundaries. This approach provides interpretable explanations for anomaly detection models and allows the creation of a rule-based surrogate model for deployment. Experimental results across multiple datasets demonstrate that our method enhances model fidelity, correctness, and robustness, outperforming existing interpretability techniques in unsupervised anomaly detection.

Interpreting Unsupervised Anomaly Detection in Security via Rule Extraction

Ruoyu Li, Qing Li#, Yu Zhang, Dan Zhao, Yong Jiang, Yong Yang (# corresponding author)

(NeurIPS) 2023 NeurIPS

This paper introduces a post-hoc interpretability method for unsupervised anomaly detection in security by leveraging rule extraction. We propose distribution decomposition rules using an Interior Clustering Tree and Compositional Boundary Exploration (CBE) algorithm to decompose normal data distributions and approximate model decision boundaries. This approach provides interpretable explanations for anomaly detection models and allows the creation of a rule-based surrogate model for deployment. Experimental results across multiple datasets demonstrate that our method enhances model fidelity, correctness, and robustness, outperforming existing interpretability techniques in unsupervised anomaly detection.

All Publications
Projects (view all )
2025
Zhipu AI, China
  GLM-4 Pretraining Algorithm Internship
Dec. 2024 - Present
All Projects