Fengxiu Zhang

Fengxiu Zhang is an assistant professor in Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She is also a core faculty member in the Center for Resilient and Sustainable Communities at Mason.

Her research interests include decision-making under risk and uncertainty, extreme events, climate change adaptation, organizational adaptation and resilience, critical infrastructure protection and technology in government. Much of her research focuses on integrating the sociopolitical, institutional, behavioral, and network perspectives to advance understanding of public organization adaptation to increased risks in the biophysical and technical environments. She also studies technology adoption and implementation in local government, with a recent focus on government open data portals. Zhang’s research has been published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Global Environmental Change, Public Administration Review, Public Management Review, Public Administration, Journal of Environmental Management, and selected transportation journals.

Zhang has received multiple awards and recognition for her work, including the 2019 Staats Emerging Scholar at Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affair and Administration (NASPAA), 2019 Digital Governance Junior Scholar in Section on Science & Technology in Government (SSTIG) at American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), 2019 Best Student Paper in Section of Transportation Policy and Transportation (STPA) at ASPA, 2019 Dissertation Completion Fellowship in the Graduate College of Arizona State University as well as 2019 Honorable Mention, and the William E. Mosher and Frederick C. Mosher Award for her Public Administration Review article.

She received her PhD in public administration and policy from Arizona State University in 2020.

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Areas of Research

• Extreme Events
• Decision Making Under Risk and Uncertainty
• Climate Change Adaptation
• Organizational Adaptation and Resilience
• Critical Infrastructure Protection
• Transportation Management
• Technology In Government
• Quantitative Methods