Sebastien Roch

Sebastien Roch is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He belongs to the Probability Group and Applied Mathematics Group within the Mathematics Department, with affiliate appointments in the Department of Statistics and the Theory of Computing Group in the Department of Computer Sciences. He is also affiliated with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and serves on the executive committee of the Institute for Foundations of Data Science (IFDS), a collaboration with the University of Washington, the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of Chicago.

Professor Roch's research spans the intersection of applied probability, statistics, and theoretical computer science, with a strong emphasis on biological applications, particularly in phylogenetics and phylogenomics. His work focuses on developing mathematical and computational frameworks for understanding evolutionary processes, species tree estimation, sequence alignment, and other problems at the interface of biology and data science. He has made significant contributions to understanding the theoretical foundations of phylogenetic reconstruction methods, particularly regarding statistical consistency, sample complexity, and algorithmic limitations. His research often bridges theoretical insights with practical applications in computational biology.

Roch's publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on the mathematical underpinnings of phylogenomics, with recent work addressing species tree rooting methods, limitations of k-mer based approaches, and the impact of evolutionary phenomena like recombination on phylogenetic inference. His work combines rigorous theoretical analysis with practical implications for biological data analysis, spanning both foundational mathematical results and innovative algorithmic approaches.

Among his notable honors are being named a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (2022), receiving the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professorship (2024), and a Van Vleck Research Professor Award (2023). His paper 'Circular Networks from Distorted Metrics' received the Best Paper Award at RECOMB 2018, and his work on concatenation methods in phylogenetics received an Honorable Mention for the Marcus W. Feldman Prize.

As an advisor, Roch has successfully guided several PhD students to completion, including Max Hill (2023), Yu Sun (2023), and Shuqi Yu (2023). His research is currently supported by NSF grants DMS-2023239 (TRIPODS Phase II) and DMS-2308495. He is also the author of the book 'Modern Discrete Probability: An Essential Toolkit,' which was published in early 2024. Roch is actively involved in the academic community, serving on the Academic Planning Council of the College of Letters and Science and participating in major conferences and workshops in computational biology and theoretical computer science. In Spring 2025, he will be teaching a new course 'Linear Algebra and Optimization' designed for students interested in AI and data science.