Hello! My name is Lou Zhou and I am a current sophomore at Rice University, double majoring in Statistics and Sport Analytics. I’m originally from Memphis, Tennessee, graduating from Memphis University School in 2023.
Having played soccer since I was 5, I’m a huge sports fan, and I’m particularly interested in the applications of statistics to answer questions in the sports world. In my free time, I try to investigate any problems that I find interesting in my blog.
I currently work under the mentorship of Dr. Scott Powers, working on a project in conjunction with the TSG Research Lab, the research arm of Bundesliga team TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, which looks to determine the effect of VR training on in-game decision-making. Here, I am focused on applying convolutional neural networks on full tracking data to quantify decision-making both on the field and in a VR space. I also serve as a TA for the university’s introductory sport analytics course.
Previously, I’ve worked in biostatistics at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital under Dr. Gang Wu, where I worked to use functional Principal Component Analysis to determine statistically significant genetic markers that contribute to the progression of an ALS patient. In high school, I’ve worked for both the Tennessee Shelby County Voting Commission and the U.S. Air Force Research Lab, where I created internal tools for data analysis and cleaning.
In my free time, I enjoy woodworking, gardening(and cooking using what I’ve grown), and playing soccer.
I am currently looking for data science opportunities for Summer 2025, so if you feel that I am a good fit for your organization, please feel free to reach out!
