Learning, optimization, control, and energy systems

Chenbei Lu

Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI Postdoctoral Fellow, AI for Science Institute, Cornell University

My research develops theoretical and algorithmic foundations for reliable sequential decision-making under uncertainty, with applications in energy systems and AI infrastructure.

CurrentAI for Science Institute, Cornell University
MethodsReinforcement learning · stochastic optimization
SystemsPower systems · storage · AI data centers

About me

Postdoctoral fellow at the AI for Science Institute.

I am an Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI Postdoctoral Fellow at the AI for Science Institute, Cornell University, working with Prof. Fengqi You. My research develops structure-aware reinforcement learning, stochastic optimization, and safe control methods for large-scale energy and AI infrastructure.

Before joining Cornell, I received my Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences at Tsinghua University in 2025, advised by Prof. Chenye Wu and Prof. Ran Duan. I was also a visiting student researcher in Computing and Mathematical Sciences at Caltech, advised by Prof. Adam Wierman.

I received my bachelor's degree in Computer Software Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2020.

Research areas

Sequential decision-making under structure and uncertainty.

01

Sequential decision-making: theory and algorithms

Theory and algorithms for reinforcement learning and stochastic optimization under structural information such as predictions, factorization, and constraints.

02

Learning and optimization for energy systems

Application-driven learning, optimization, and control methods for power-system operation, storage control, dispatch, unit commitment, and demand flexibility.

03

Energy and AI infrastructure

Models and optimization frameworks for AI data centers, regional power systems, supply headroom, and emerging infrastructure planning questions.

Selected publications

Selected papers.

NeurIPS 2025, Spotlight

Reinforcement Learning with Imperfect Transition Predictions: A Bellman-Jensen Approach

Chenbei Lu, Zaiwei Chen, Tongxin Li, Chenye Wu, and Adam Wierman

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ICML 2025

Overcoming the Curse of Dimensionality in Reinforcement Learning Through Approximate Factorization

Chenbei Lu, Laixi Shi, Zaiwei Chen, Chenye Wu, and Adam Wierman

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IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid

Self-Improving Online Storage Control for Stable Wind Power Commitment

Chenbei Lu, Hongyu Yi, Jiahao Zhang, and Chenye Wu

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IEEE Transactions on Power Systems

Sample-Adaptive Robust Economic Dispatch with Statistical Guarantees

Chenbei Lu, Nan Gu, Wenqian Jiang, and Chenye Wu

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IEEE Control Systems Letters

On the Optimal Deterministic Policy Learning in Chance-Constrained Markov Decision Processes

Hongyu Yi*, Chenbei Lu*, and Chenye Wu

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Instruction and mentoring

Course support and research mentoring.

Guest lectures and course support in AI for Science, AI for Energy Systems, and Deep Learning at Cornell University.

Teaching assistant experience in Combinatorial Mathematics and AI Research Practice at Tsinghua University.

Research mentoring for junior researchers who continued to Ph.D. programs in ECE, CEE, and CS.

News

Updates.

2025

NeurIPS Spotlight paper on reinforcement learning with imperfect predictions.

2025

Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI Postdoctoral Fellow at the AI for Science Institute, Cornell.

Professional service

Reviewer for NeurIPS, AAAI, IEEE CDC, ACC, PSCC, IEEE SmartGridComm, ACM e-Energy, Applied Energy, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (TPAMI), IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, and related journals.

TPC member for IEEE SmartGridComm; poster reviewer for ACM e-Energy 2026.

Contact

Contact for collaborations and research conversations.