Yiran (Grant) Zhang
Yiran Zhang, also known as Grant, is a PhD candidate at The University of Western Australia. His primary supervisor is A/Professor Wei Liu. His research focuses on the development of an advanced Data-to-Knowledge Platform to enhance data integration and interpretation across exploration, characterisation, and processing stages within the critical minerals value chain.
Grant’s project will utilise knowledge graph technologies and artificial intelligence to improve data interoperability, accessibility, and interpretation across complex geological and processing datasets. By integrating structured and unstructured data into connected knowledge systems, his work aims to enable more efficient discovery of insights, support evidence-based decision-making, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs in critical minerals research.
Prior to commencing his PhD, Grant completed a Master of Research at Macquarie University and a Master of Information Technology at The University of Sydney. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Data Science from Simon Fraser University, where he was awarded both the Dean’s Honour Roll and President’s Honour Roll. He brings significant industry experience as an AI Engineer at Huawei, where he led cross-functional teams, developed multimodal information retrieval and large language model (LLM) systems, and deployed advanced data extraction and knowledge retrieval architectures. His work has been recognised with multiple awards, including the Huawei Cloud InnovWave-Circle Outstanding Idea Award.
Grant’s research will deliver a critical platform for data-driven and evidence-based insight generation across the Centre. It will support the development of big data science capabilities for future geoscientists and contribute to industry roadmaps for data interoperability, strengthening Australia’s leadership in mining innovation and digital transformation.
