Oleg Zendel

Oleg Zendel

Research Fellow

ADM+S Centre

RMIT University

Professional Summary

Research Overview

Oleg Zendel is a Research Fellow at the School of Computing Technologies, RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and a core member of the Australian Search Experience 2.0 (ASE 2.0) project funded by the Australian Research Council.

Research Focus

My research addresses the evaluation of modern Information Retrieval (IR) systems, with particular emphasis on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines and AI-powered search systems. I investigate how end-to-end search systems behave in the era of generative AI, where retrieval, generation, and user interaction are tightly coupled.

Key research areas:

  • Evaluation methods for RAG and neural retrieval systems
  • Query Performance Prediction (QPP) in modern search contexts
  • Large language models as evaluators and search components
  • User interaction and behavior in AI-powered search
  • Robustness and effectiveness of generative search systems

Academic Background

PhD in Computer Science (2020-2024)
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Supervisors: Prof. J. Shane Culpepper, Prof. Falk Scholer
Thesis: New Perspectives on Query Performance Prediction

MSc in Information Management Engineering (2017-2020)
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
Supervisor: Prof. Oren Kurland
Thesis: Information Needs, Queries, and Query Performance Prediction

BSc in Industrial Engineering and Management (2013-2017)
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

Notable Achievements

  • MMU-RAG winners at NeurIPS 2025
  • LiveRAG winners at SIGIR 2025
  • Best PC Member Award, SIGIR 2025
  • Best Paper Award, ECIR 2021 - “An Enhanced Evaluation Framework for Query Performance Prediction”
  • Best Data Science Paper, Yahoo TechPulse 2020
  • Patent Granted - US Patent US12035001B2 for ad-close prediction systems
  • Published at top-tier venues: SIGIR, ECIR, CHIIR, CIKM, Information Retrieval Journal

Collaboration & Contact

I welcome opportunities for collaboration and discussion in Information Retrieval, RAG evaluation, search systems, and query performance prediction. Feel free to reach out via email or social media.

Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Affiliation: RMIT University, ADM+S Centre

Education

PhD Computer Science

RMIT University

MSc Information Management Engineering

Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

BSc Industrial Engineering and Management

Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Interests

Information Retrieval Retrieval-Augmented Generation Search Evaluation User Interaction
Research Statement

Evaluating Generative Search & RAG

My current work develops robust methodologies for evaluating AI-powered search pipelines, specifically Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). Core focus areas include:

  • RAG Pipeline Evaluation: Designing reliable metrics to measure effectiveness across both the retrieval and generation stages.
  • LLMs as Evaluators: Assessing the reliability, bias, and calibration of using Large Language Models to judge search quality (LLM-as-a-judge).
  • Interactive IR: Analyzing and quantifying user interactions within generative search environments.

Query Performance Prediction (QPP)

I have introduced novel, statistically rigorous frameworks for predicting search system effectiveness. Key methodological contributions include:

  • ANOVA-Based Modeling: Utilizing Analysis of Variance to standardize and improve the statistical rigor of QPP evaluation.
  • Query Variation Analysis: Quantifying how lexical and semantic query variations impact retrieval prediction quality.
  • User-Centric QPP: Grounding system-side performance predictions in actual user perception and satisfaction models.

Experience

  1. Research Fellow at the ADM+S Centre

    RMIT University
    Working with Prof. Mark Sanderson and other ADM+S researchers on various aspects of search, including search evaluation, search interaction, and search user modeling. Part of the assembled team for The Australian Search Experience 2.0 project, funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC).

  2. Research Fellow in Search Interaction

    The University of Melbourne
    Worked with Prof. Alistair Moffat on the ARC Discovery Project: “New approaches to interactive sessional search for complex tasks” at the School of Computing and Information Systems.

  3. Teaching Assistant and Mentor

    RMIT University

    Case Studies in Data Science - COSC2669 (Graduate). Responsibilities include:

    • Mentoring multiple teams in their project throughout the course
    • Marking weekly assessments, and final projects and presentations

  4. Teaching Assistant

    RMIT University

    Practical Data Science with Python - COSC2670 (Graduate & Undergraduate). Responsibilities include:

    • Composing assignments and marking criteria
    • Composing weekly quizzes
    • Teaching and assignments marking

  5. Subject-Matter Expert (SME)

    RMIT Online
    Acting as SME on the redevelopment of the online course Practical Data Science with Python. Updating and adding content and course materials.

  6. Research Intern

    Yahoo! Research
    During the internship at Yahoo! Research, we developed a prediction model able to forecast the closure of ads based on user interactions within the Yahoo email application. Our findings were presented as a short paper at CIKM 2020 and received the Best Data Science Paper award at TechPulse 2020. Additionally, the work resulted in a registered patent.

  7. Teaching Assistant

    Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

    E-Commerce Models - 096211 (Graduate & Undergraduate). The course covers intro to various topics such as graph theory, social networks, game theory, and blockchain; with practical applications in Python. Responsibilities include:

    • Teaching
    • Assignments writing and marking
    • Exam marking

Education

  1. PhD Computer Science

    RMIT University
    Thesis title “New Perspectives on Query Performance Prediction”. Supervisors: Prof. J. Shane Culpepper, Prof. Falk Scholer.

  2. MSc Information Management Engineering

    Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
    Thesis title “Information Needs, Queries, and Query Performance Prediction”. Supervisor: Prof. Oren Kurland.

  3. BSc Industrial Engineering and Management

    Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Featured Publications
Kun Ran, Marwah Alaofi, Danula Hettiachchi, Chenglong Ma, Khoi Nguyen Dinh Anh, Khoi Vo Nguyen, Sachin Pathiyan Cherumanal, Lida Rashidi, Falk Scholer, Damiano Spina, Oleg Zendel (2026). RMIT-ADM+S at the MMU-RAG NeurIPS 2025 Competition 🏆. NeurIPS 2025 MMU-RAG Competition.
arXiv Preprint
Oleg Zendel, Sara Fahad Dawood Al Lawati, Lida Rashidi, Falk Scholer, Mark Sanderson (2025). A Comparative Analysis of Linguistic and Retrieval Diversity in LLM-Generated Search Queries. CIKM ‘25.
Laura Dietz, Oleg Zendel, Peter Bailey, Charles L. A. Clarke, Ellese Cotterill, Jeff Dalton, Faegheh Hasibi, Mark Sanderson, Nick Craswell (2025). Principles and Guidelines for the Use of LLM Judges. ICTIR ‘25.
Kun Ran, Shuoqi Sun, Khoi Nguyen Dinh Anh, Damiano Spina, Oleg Zendel (2025). RMIT-ADM+S at the SIGIR 2025 LiveRAG Challenge 🏆. SIGIR 2025 LiveRAG Challenge.
arXiv Preprint
Guglielmo Faggioli, Oleg Zendel, J. Shane Culpepper, Nicola Ferro, Falk Scholer (2021). An Enhanced Evaluation Framework for Query Performance Prediction 🏆. Received best paper in ECIR ‘21.
PDF Slides Video PDF DOI
Recent Publications
Kun Ran, Marwah Alaofi, Danula Hettiachchi, Chenglong Ma, Khoi Nguyen Dinh Anh, Khoi Vo Nguyen, Sachin Pathiyan Cherumanal, Lida Rashidi, Falk Scholer, Damiano Spina, Oleg Zendel (2026). RMIT-ADM+S at the MMU-RAG NeurIPS 2025 Competition 🏆. NeurIPS 2025 MMU-RAG Competition.
arXiv Preprint
Oleg Zendel, Sara Fahad Dawood Al Lawati, Lida Rashidi, Falk Scholer, Mark Sanderson (2025). A Comparative Analysis of Linguistic and Retrieval Diversity in LLM-Generated Search Queries. CIKM ‘25.
Laura Dietz, Oleg Zendel, Peter Bailey, Charles L. A. Clarke, Ellese Cotterill, Jeff Dalton, Faegheh Hasibi, Mark Sanderson, Nick Craswell (2025). Principles and Guidelines for the Use of LLM Judges. ICTIR ‘25.
Kun Ran, Shuoqi Sun, Khoi Nguyen Dinh Anh, Damiano Spina, Oleg Zendel (2025). RMIT-ADM+S at the SIGIR 2025 LiveRAG Challenge 🏆. SIGIR 2025 LiveRAG Challenge.
arXiv Preprint
Johanne R. Trippas, Oleg Zendel, Adam Roegiest (2025). Applying Large Language Models to Interactive Information Retrieval: A Practical Exploration. CHIIR ‘25.
See all publications
Service to the Research Community

Conference Organization

I have served in various organizational roles for the following conferences:

Program Committee Member

I have served as a PC member for the following conferences and workshops:

Peer Reviewing

I have served as a reviewer for the following journals: