Experience

01 Recent & Ongoing Projects

CausalRAG: Integrating Causal Graphs into RAG

Researcher, First Author

  • Introduced causality into large language model frameworks by incorporating causal graphs into the RAG pipeline, significantly improving answer faithfulness (+10.64%) and context precision (+19.16%) over state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods [1].
  • Spearheaded the project and independently executed ~95% of the coding workload, including LLM evaluation, reproduction and implementation of various base LLMs, and re-implementation of SOTA frameworks as baselines.
  • Published at a top AI conference, the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) 2025 [Paper].

Rethinking What Should Be Retrieved for LLMs

Researcher, First Author

  • Rethought the dominant “searching game” paradigm in retrieval for large language models by introducing a novel reasoning-oriented perspective, enabling evaluation of full-document and cross-document comprehension as well as deeper reasoning capabilities.
  • Led the project and coordinated a diverse team of co-authors on knowledge graph construction, framework development, dataset curation (114,000 internal documents), and comprehensive design, implementation, and analysis of LLM evaluation experiments at scale.
  • Ongoing project targeting AI conferences 2026 (NeurIPS/ICML/ACL); preliminary findings presented in internal research workshops.

AI for Sales

Researcher, First Author

  • Developed a strongly theory-driven framework (AGA typology) to bridge the gap between AI conceptualizations and real-world deployment, systematically coding 45 state-of-the-art applications based on diverse developer guides across technical features.
  • Collaborated with five team members on interdisciplinary literature collection, extensive coding, detailed cross-checking and review, and iterative synthesis into one comprehensive 50-page manuscript [2] and one handbook [3].
  • Paper under review at a top-tier journal (14% acceptance rate), passed initial submission and the first-round revision.

02 Publications & Patents

  1. Wang, N., Han, X., Singh, J., Ma, J., & Chaudhary, V. CausalRAG: Integrating Causal Graphs into Retrieval-Augmented Generation. Proceedings of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL 2025), July 2025.
  2. Wang, N., Nahm, I., Pu, Q., Mojir, N., & Singh, J. Generative AI Technologies and B2B Sales: Framework, Roles, and Future Directions. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Special issue on “Advancing the Field of Selling and Sales Management - Twenty-Year Update”, Manuscript under review.
  3. Wang, N., Pu, Q., Nahm, I., Mojir, N., & Singh, J. Technological and Digitalization Forces Shaping B2B Sales: Confluence, Challenges, Promises, and Pitfalls. Handbook of Interorganizational Relationships, Handbook under review.
  4. Wang, N., Bi, C., & Fu, Y. Recommendation Method, Device, and Electronic Apparatus Based on Multimodal Features. Chinese Patent, CN118093984A, May 2024.
  5. Wang, N. Image Processing Method and Apparatus. Chinese Patent, CN118053002A, May 2024.
  6. Wang, N. Image Color Recognition and Recommendation Method and Device. Chinese Patent, CN118053001A, May 2024.
  7. Bi, C., Wang, N., & Wang, Z. Image Generation Method and Apparatus Based on Artificial Intelligence. Chinese Patent, CN114723855A, Jul 2022.
  8. Wang, N., Ling, Y., & Fu, Y. Method and Device for Determining and Evaluating Business Data Categories. Chinese Patent, CN114219037A, Mar 2022.
  9. Wang, N. Business Classification Method and Device Based on Machine Learning. Chinese Patent, CN115018405A, Sep 2022.
  10. Li, L., & Wang, N. Method for Processing Financial Data Using Deep Learning. Chinese Patent, CN114049189B (Granted), Apr 2025.

03 Education

Case Western Reserve University

Ph.D., Computer Science (Dual Track with Marketing)

  • Research Focus: CS - LLMs, RAG, and Causal Inference; Marketing - AI Conceptualization and Deployment
  • Excellent Researcher Student Award (Top-20 students university-wide), Oct 2024
  • Advisors: Dr. Vipin Chaudhary (CS) and Dr. Jagdip Singh (Marketing)

Case Western Reserve University

M.S., Business Analytics

  • GPA 3.86/4.0. Coursework: Machine Learning (A), Statistics (A), Predictive Modeling (A)

Jiangsu University

B.S., Industrial Engineering

  • GPA 3.5/5.0. Coursework: C Programming (A), Probability Statistics (A), Database Management (A)

04 Experience

Yum R&D Center

Applied Scientist, AI & Data Team

  • Contributed to the development and deployment of AI/ML systems for Yum brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), independently responsible for algorithm design and modeling; supported 10+ brand-level projects across 10k+ stores, impacting 10M+ users.
  • Led algorithm development for three projects (end-to-end), including KFC Pocket Manager (+15.5% ROI) [4], KFC App Feeds (+11.5%) [5], and Pizza Hut AI Community (+12.4%) [6], collaborating closely with business teams (ops/marketing) to translate complex requirements into deployable AI solutions concerning language models, forecasting, computer vision, and recommender systems.
  • Transferred as Senior Engineer to R&D Center in Oct 2022; authored multiple patents and co-developed 2 trade secrets; received an Innovation Award and Scholarship.

MetersBonwe Group

Data Scientist, Data Science Research Team

  • Built and deployed AI/ML algorithms for 1,000+ retailers; collaborated with supply chain, retail, and marketing teams to deliver AI solutions addressing complex business needs, including forecasting models (user volume) and computer vision (overstock detection).
  • Led the design and development of ML systems for store-entry prediction and climate/temperature-driven demand forecasting; integrated into the inventory platform, reducing overstock waste by 29% and increasing sales by 11% in Q4.
  • Selected to join the CEO’s 8-person core team for strategic data initiatives; contributed to the analytics roadmap and cross-functional execution, building internal semantic analysis and predictive tools.

05 Awards

  • Excellent Researcher Student Award (Top-20 university-wide), CWRU, Oct 2024.
  • Innovation Award and Scholarship, Yum R&D Center, 2021-2022.
  • Excellent Graduate Award, Jiangsu University, Jun 2018.

06 Activities & Expertise

  • Presented “Artificial Intelligence Definition and Typology” at the CWRU Board of Trustees (Top-3 student presenters school-wide), Oct 2024.
  • Taught course Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (section on Transformers and Attention Mechanisms), Fall 2025.
  • Programming & Tools: Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Transformers (Hugging Face), scikit-learn, Git, Linux, R, SQL (Hive/Oracle/Spark SQL), C, C# (Unity), SAS, SPSS, Spark, Databricks, AWS, Hive, Arena Simulation.
  • ML/AI Expertise: LLMs, RAG, causal inference, NLP (classification, NER, sentiment, topic modeling), recommender systems, time-series forecasting.
  • Certifications & Editorial Service: AI & Data Engineering; Advanced Google Analytics; International Logistician; Reviewer of Journal of Service Research.

07 Contact