I'm Lizhong Zhang, a theoretical and computational astrophysicist. I develop and apply advanced numerical algorithms to study some of the most extreme environments in the universe. My research uses large-scale numerical experiments to investigate how matter accretes onto compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars, with a particular focus on high-energy regimes where radiative processes, magnetic fields, and general relativity come together to drive the dynamics.

I earned my Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I was advised by Professor Omer Blaes. Prior to that, I completed a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, advised by Professor Joaquin Vieira. Currently, I am a joint postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Flatiron Institute.