Dr. Shanzhen Gao is an Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems at Virginia State University and a Lifetime Fellow of the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications. Originally from China, he earned dual Ph.D. degrees in Applied Mathematics and Computing and Information Science through advanced studies in the United States. Dr. Gao has taught more than 20 courses at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels in computer science and computer information systems. He has held faculty positions at Virginia State University, the University of Richmond, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and has also taught mathematics at Florida Atlantic University. His teaching experience spans in-person, hybrid, and online learning environments. His research lies at the intersection of mathematics and computer science, with a focus on risk management, data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, parallel and distributed computing, algorithms, discrete mathematics, combinatorics, graph theory, knowledge management, and pedagogical innovation. Dr. Gao is committed to interdisciplinary collaboration, lifelong learning, and applying his expertise to address real-world challenges.