Yi Zhou

Yi Zhou, Ph.D.

Professor
Phone: (415) 338-2661
Email: yizhou88@sfsu.edu
Location: CA 251G
Role
Faculty
Department
Finance

 

Office Hours:

  • MONDAYS:            7:00 am - 8:00 am 
  • WEDNESDAYS:     7:00 am - 8:00 am and 12:15--13:15 PM (Online)

 

Biography:

Professor Yi Zhou is a Full Professor of Finance at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Her research interests span Empirical Asset Pricing, Derivatives, Credit and Default Risk, Volatility, Art and Finance, Climate and Weather Risk, as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs).

Professor Yi Zhou's publication record comprises ten (10) published papers, three (3) of which are published in the Journal of Financial Economics (JFE) (2016 and 2017) and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA) (2019), both of which the Financial Times designates as a top-fifty journal used in business school research rankings. Both journals are among two (2) of the top-four (4) journals in finance and on the list of the twenty-four (24) leading journals used for the University of Texas at Dallas top-100 business school research rankings Her six (6) other papers are published in the Journal of Banking and Finance (JBF) (2013), Journal of Empirical Finance (JEF) (2015), European Journal of Finance (EJF) (2017), Journal of Financial Markets (JFM) (2022), Journal of Cultural Economics (JCE) (2022), Financial Management (FM) (2023), and Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting (2025).

Professor Yi Zhou's papers have received numerous awards, including the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) Research Award (2009 and 2013), the American Association of Individual Investors Award (2013), and the Center for Hedge Fund Research (CHFR) Award (2009). She also received the Publication Incentive Award of LFCoB for three consecutive years (2020–2021, 2021–2022, and 2022–2023), as well as the Exemplary Research Award for two consecutive years (2016–2017 and 2017–2018). In 2017, she was awarded the highly selective Development of Research and Creativity (DRC) Grant, funded by the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office. Additionally, she received the Pacific Basin Finance Journal Research Excellence Award in 2016. She was honored with the title of Lam Larsen Distinguished Research Professor for the 2025–2027 term.
 

Professor Yi Zhou is in the top 10% of authors on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) by total new downloads and by all-time downloads. Her papers have been on the SSRN's Top 10 download list in various fields.

Professor Yi Zhou has taught various courses in Investment, Derivatives, Risk Management, Business Finance, and Corporate Finance.

Professor Yi Zhou has served as the Academic Senator representing the Lam Family College of Business in the Academic Senate from 2018 to 2023, the Curriculum Review & Approval Committee (C.R.A.C.) from 2018 to 2019,  the Academic Program Review Committee (A.P.R.C.) from 2017 to 2019, the Academic Master Plan from 2018 to 2019, and the Faculty Affairs Committee (F.A.C.) from 2019 to 2023. She is currently serving on the Professional Development Council (P.D.C.) and Library Advisory Committee (L.A.C.).

Professor Yi Zhou holds a PhD in Finance, MA in Statistics, and MA in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She also holds a MA in Astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Faculty Interview Video Series:

View Professor Zhou's Faculty Interview Video Series to learn more about her research.