Dr. June Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Electrical Engineering at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Her interest is in using stochastic processes to study large-scale interactive systems. Her research spans multiple data analysis areas, such as modeling the spread of epidemics and modeling the evolution of news using natural language processing. For example, using complex systems analysis, we can show that certain areas are more prone to infection because of the high number of interactions due to travel. Dr. Zhang teaches probability, machine learning, and signal processing courses at UHM. Dr. Zhang did not always want to study engineering; growing up, she wanted to be a manga-artist. But she learned to appreciate the beauty and objectiveness of mathematics over time. She now believes a solid foundation in mathematics is crucial for students at any level; it is important to realize that mathematics is about principled and logical thinking, not being a human calculator. She has a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech, M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford, and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and was a recipient of the Georgia Hope Scholarship and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.