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Jelena GrbicView profile

Professor

• Topology
• Algebra
• Combinatorics
• +6 more

Professor Jelena Grbic is a distinguished mathematician serving as Professor of Mathematics within the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Southampton since 2012. Her academic journey began with a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Belgrade, Serbia in 1997, followed by a Ph.D. in Algebraic Topology from the University of Aberdeen in 2004. Prior to her current position, she held academic appointments at the University of Manchester (2007-2012) as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer, and at the University of Aberdeen (2004-2006) as Lecturer. Professor Grbic's research spans multiple interconnected domains of pure mathematics, with a primary focus on modern homotopy theory, particularly unstable homotopy theory, and its applications across topology, algebra, and geometry. Her work centers on decompositions and exponent problems in homotopy theory, homotopy aspects of Toric Topology, Hopf algebras, and geometric problems related to cobordisms and string topology. This research bridges abstract mathematical theory with potential applications in data science and computational topology. Analysis of her recent publications (2020-2025) reveals a consistent research trajectory in algebraic topology with increasing interdisciplinary connections. Her work demonstrates sophisticated mathematical techniques applied to complex topological structures, particularly moment-angle complexes and polyhedral products. Notably, her 2022 paper 'Aspects of topological approaches for data science' indicates growing interest in applying topological methods to contemporary data analysis problems, suggesting an expanding research horizon beyond pure mathematics. Professor Grbic actively supervises PhD students, including current student Salvatore Elia in Mathematical Sciences, and teaches modules covering algebraic topology and homotopy theory. She serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals including Homology, Homotopy and Application (2019), Transactions of the London Mathematical Society (2021), and The LMS Newsletter (2017), contributing to the scholarly community through peer review and academic service.

Mohsen GhaffariView profile

Associate Professor

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Distributed Algorithms
• Parallel Algorithms
• +3 more

Mohsen Ghaffari is an Associate Professor at MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), holding the Steven and Renee Finn Chair. His research focuses on theoretical computer science, particularly distributed and parallel algorithms, graph theory, and network optimization. Formerly, he was a tenured CS faculty member at ETH Zurich until 2022. PhD in Computer Science from MIT (2016) His research interests include distributed algorithms, parallel computing, graph decomposition, and network congestion management. His recent work addresses coreness decomposition, spanner construction, and Euclidean k-center optimization in massive parallel computation frameworks. Notable scientific awards include the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award (Honorable Mention), ACM-EATCS Doctoral Dissertation Award, and multiple best paper awards at FOCS, PODC, and SODA. He has advised numerous PhD and Master's students, many of whom have transitioned to academic and industry roles. He has taught courses at MIT and ETH Zurich on distributed algorithms, advanced algorithms, and massively parallel computation. His professional activities include serving on program committees for SODA, FOCS, STOC, and organizing workshops like Highlights of Algorithms (HALG) and Workshop on Local Algorithms (WOLA).

Jan DreierView profile

Research Fellow

• Structural Graph Theory
• Algorithmic Meta-theorems
• Computational Complexity
• +1 more

Jan Dreier is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Logic and Computation at Vienna University of Technology. His research centers on structural graph theory and algorithmic meta-theorems, particularly exploring the boundaries of tractability for model checking problems. Dreier's work bridges theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, focusing on graph decompositions, parameterized complexity, and logical expressiveness. Key research themes include monadic stability in graph classes, applications of model theory to computer science, and efficient algorithms for logical queries on structured graphs. His publication record shows consistent focus on graph sparsity concepts and algorithmic applications of logic, with recent work expanding into approximation methods for counting queries. Research demonstrates sophisticated applications of combinatorial methods to fundamental problems in computational complexity.

Chandra ChekuriView profile

Professor

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Design and Analysis of Algorithms
• Discrete and Combinatorial Optimization
• +6 more

Chandra Chekuri is the Paul and Cynthia Saylor Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, situated within the Grainger College of Engineering. He has been actively contributing to theoretical computer science for over two decades, with significant leadership roles including serving as Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious SIAM Journal on Computing since May 2025. His academic journey began with a B.Tech in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1993, followed by a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University in 1998. Prior to joining UIUC, he spent eight years as a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies. Chekuri's research focuses on theoretical computer science with particular emphasis on the design and analysis of algorithms, discrete and combinatorial optimization, approximation algorithms, mathematical programming, and graph theory. His work explores fundamental connections between discrete structures and optimization problems, with applications spanning network design, data analysis, and computational complexity. His recent publications demonstrate a continued focus on hypergraph algorithms, submodular function optimization, and graph partitioning problems, showing how theoretical insights can yield practical algorithmic improvements. His approach often combines continuous relaxations with discrete rounding techniques to develop approximation algorithms for NP-hard problems. As Editor-in-Chief of SIAM Journal on Computing, Chekuri leads one of theoretical computer science's most respected publications, which covers analysis and design of algorithms, algorithmic game theory, computational complexity, and other mathematical aspects of computer science. His editorial leadership follows previous service as Associate Editor for several major journals including SIAM Journal on Computing, Mathematics of Operations Research, and Mathematical Programming. ACM Fellow (January 2024) Scott Fisher Teaching Award (for year 2022-23) from CS Department Chekuri has advised numerous PhD students to completion, including Kent Quanrud, Vivek Madan, Shalmoli Gupta, and Chao Xu, with several currently in progress such as Tanvi Bajpai, ElFarouk Harb, Rhea Jain, and Weihao Zhu. His teaching portfolio includes graduate courses on Randomized Algorithms, Approximation Algorithms, Algorithms for Big Data, and Combinatorial Optimization. He has served as Director of the Graduate Program in the Department of Computer Science from May 2014 to August 2017, demonstrating significant administrative leadership within the department.

Asaf FerberView profile

Assistant Professor

• Combinatorics
• Random Graphs
• Probabilistic Methods
• +1 more

Asaf Ferber is Associate Professor in Mathematics at University of California, Irvine, School of Physical Sciences. His research spans discrete mathematics including combinatorial games, random graphs, extremal hypergraph theory, and quantum computation. Research explores Hamiltonian cycles in random graphs, structural properties of pseudorandom graphs, and quantum algorithms for combinatorial problems. Recent work develops quantum approaches to graph learning and sparse recovery in random matrices. Awards: NSF CAREER Award Sloan Fellowship Distinguished Early Career Faculty Award for Research Air Force Research Grant NSF-BSF Grant Organizes conferences including SoCalDM Symposium and Desert Discrete Math Workshop, mentoring graduate students through UCI's Probability and Combinatorics Seminar.

Jason LiView profile

Assistant Professor

• Fast Graph Algorithms
• Algorithm Design
• Minimum Cut Problems
• +6 more

Jason Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. He teaches advanced algorithms courses including 15-754 Spectral Graph Theory (Spring 2025), 15-451 Design and Analysis of Algorithms (Fall 2024), and 15-850 Advanced Algorithms (Spring 2024). His research focuses on fast graph algorithms , particularly solving longstanding open problems through modern algorithmic techniques. Key research themes include preconditioning and locality , which serve as reductions from worst-case to well-behaved and local instances respectively. His work has produced breakthroughs in deterministic global minimum cut algorithms, all-pairs minimum cut (Gomory-Hu trees), and near-optimal parallel shortest path algorithms. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent trend toward almost-linear time algorithms for fundamental graph problems, with significant contributions to dynamic graph algorithms, minimum cut variants, and parallel computation. His work frequently appears in top venues including STOC, FOCS, and SODA, often with multiple best paper recognitions. EATCS Distinguished Dissertation Award (2021) Best Paper Award at SODA 2024 Invited to HALG 2024 Invited to TALG and JACM for SODA 2024 paper Machtey Best Student Paper at FOCS 2019 Professor Li actively advises graduate students including Henry Fleischmann and George Li. His research is supported by collaborations with leading institutions and frequent invitations to present at major conferences. He maintains an open-door policy for CMU students and collaborators, though notes the high volume of research inquiries he receives weekly.

• Fast graph algorithms in different computation models
• Robust algorithms against adaptive adversaries
• Continuous optimization for combinatorial problems
• +3 more

Thatchaphol Saranurak is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan , specifically in the Computer Science and Engineering Division . Prior to this, he earned his PhD in Computer Science from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2018 under Danupon Nanongkai , followed by a postdoctoral research assistant professorship at Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (2018-2020). Research Focus : His work bridges fundamental problems in graph theory, including Dynamic graph algorithms for max-flow and min-cut Expander graph decompositions and their applications Robust algorithms against adaptive adversaries Continuous optimization for combinatorial problems Scientific Contributions : He has made breakthroughs in deterministic graph algorithms, notably improving vertex connectivity bounds, developing near-linear time Gomory-Hu trees, and advancing dynamic matching algorithms. His research has been recognized by Sloan Research Fellowship NSF CAREER Award Presburger Award 2023 Teaching : He teaches courses like Expander and Graph Algorithms and Introduction to Algorithms (Winter 23, Winter 25). His lecture videos and notes are publicly available. Collaborations : He works with leading researchers including Sayan Bhattacharya , Joakim Blikstad , and Jason Li , with affiliations to institutions like TTIC , KTH , and SODA conferences.

Giorgis PetridisView profile

Associate Professor

• Arithmetic Combinatorics
• Combinatorial Geometry
• Number Theory
• +3 more

Giorgis Petridis is an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, specializing in arithmetic combinatorics, a field rooted in combinatorial number theory with modern extensions into discrete analysis and finite field geometry. Born in Athens, Greece, he earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge under Tim Gowers and held a Visiting Assistant Professor position at the University of Rochester. He serves as an editor for Combinatorial Theory and is affiliated with the Number Theory and Arithmetic Geometry group, particularly its additive combinatorics and discrete analysis subgroup. Doctor of Philosophy (2011), University of Cambridge Certificate of Advanced Studies in Mathematics (2002), St John’s College, Cambridge BA (Hons) in Mathematics (2001), St John’s College, Cambridge His research focuses on additive combinatorics, exploring sumset estimates, polynomial configurations in prime lattices, and geometric incidence problems over finite fields. He investigates combinatorial geometry, including pinned distance problems and bisector arrangements, while also contributing to exponential sum bounds and expander graph theory. His work bridges theoretical mathematics with applications in pseudorandomness and discrete geometry. Recent publications highlight trends in finite field analysis, with 6 of 15 articles addressing arithmetic structures in prime-order fields. Key keywords include Combinatorics , Number Theory , and Finite Fields , with sub-fields spanning polynomial configurations, energy bounds, and geometric combinatorics. Scientific awards include the Creative Research Medal (2024) from the University of Georgia for mid-career research impact. Grants from the Simons Foundation (MPS-TSM-00007816) and multiple NSF DMS Awards (2054214, 1723016, 1500984, 1804049) support his work on discrete analysis and conferences. He co-advises five PhD students and has supervised multiple Master’s theses on topics like point-plane incidences and additive energy. Outreach includes leading high school math teams, organizing discrete analysis sessions, and contributing to public science communication guides.

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Algorithms
• Convex Optimization
• +4 more

Rasmus Kyng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, where he has been since 2019. His research focuses on fast algorithms for graph problems, convex optimization, and their applications in machine learning. He has received grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, including project grants and a starting grant. Education: B.A. in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge (2011), PhD in Computer Science from Yale University (2017), advised by Daniel A. Spielman. Postdoctoral positions included Harvard University (2018–2019) and a research fellowship at the Simons Institute, UC Berkeley (2017). Research Interests: Development of nearly linear-time algorithms for fundamental graph problems (e.g., maximum flow, minimum-cost flow), dynamic graph algorithms, discrepancy theory, and fine-grained complexity. His work bridges numerical linear algebra and combinatorial optimization, emphasizing practical implementations such as the Laplacians.jl package. Awards: FOCS Best Paper Award (2022), Inaugural ICBS Frontiers of Science Award (2022), Machtey Award (Best Student Paper, FOCS 2017). Teaching: Advanced Graph Algorithms and Optimization (ETH Zurich, 2020–2023), Algorithms, Probability, and Computing (ETH Zurich, 2020–2022). Supervised numerous PhD students and mentored postdocs in theoretical computer science. Labs/Teams: Co-leads a research group with Maximilian Probst Gutenberg, focusing on dynamic graph algorithms and optimization. Collaborations include work on sparsification, spectral graph theory, and machine learning applications.

Christos GatzidisView profile

Professor

• Computer Graphics
• Virtual Reality
• Serious Games
• +5 more

Christos Gatzidis serves as Executive Dean of Bournemouth University's Faculty of Science and Technology since October 2023, overseeing six departments including Computing and Informatics, Creative Technology, and Psychology. Previously Deputy Dean (2021-2023) and Head of Creative Technology Department (2016-2021), he was appointed Professor in Creative Technology in November 2019. The Faculty leads five REF Units of Assessment and secures funding from AHRC, NIHR, and Innovate UK for research spanning digital healthcare, gaming technologies, and cultural heritage applications. His educational qualifications include: PhD in Information Science, City University London (2010) PG Cert in Research Degree Supervision, Bournemouth University (2010) MA in Computer Animation, Teesside University (2003) BSc (Hons) in Computer Studies (Visualisation), University of Derby (2002) Professor Gatzidis specializes in computer graphics with research spanning virtual reality, serious games, and digital healthcare applications. His work bridges technical innovation and practical implementation, particularly in mindfulness prototypes for healthcare and stroke rehabilitation systems. Current projects focus on the multidisciplinary application of gaming technologies in medical contexts, emphasizing user experience and therapeutic outcomes through collaborations with industry partners. His publication record (2014-2025) demonstrates evolving expertise from foundational computer graphics research in terrain generation and deformation to applied work in healthcare, cultural heritage, and music education. Key trends include virtual reality for therapeutic mindfulness, usability studies in mobile gaming, and digital cultural presentation techniques, reflecting a trajectory toward socially impactful technological solutions with strong industry translation. No scientific awards are documented in the provided information. He has supervised PhD students and secured competitive research funding, including two Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. His principal investigator role in a virtual reality mindfulness prototype project exemplifies his approach to translating academic research into practical industry solutions, with current focus on expanding knowledge exchange activities to support the University's civic engagement mission. As Executive Dean, he leads faculty-wide research strategy across six departments, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations particularly in digital healthcare and cultural heritage. His personal research integrates computer graphics expertise with clinical applications through partnerships with healthcare providers and technology companies, driving innovation in therapeutic VR systems and educational gaming platforms.

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Distributed Algorithms
• Parallel Algorithms
• +3 more

Yi-Jun Chang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He previously held a Junior Fellow position at the Institute for Theoretical Studies, ETH Zurich (2019–2021), and earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan (2019). His research focuses on theoretical computer science, particularly distributed, parallel, and sublinear graph algorithms. Ph.D., University of Michigan (2019) M.S., National Taiwan University (2015) B.S., National Taiwan University (2013) Chang’s research explores the complexity and optimization of algorithms in distributed systems, including leader election, graph shattering, expander decomposition, and subgraph detection. His work addresses fundamental challenges in time-energy trade-offs, communication efficiency, and deterministic vs. randomized approaches in models like LOCAL and CONGEST. Recent publications highlight advancements in distributed triangle enumeration, optimal coloring, shortest path computation, and certification in bounded pathwidth graphs. Awards include the PODC 2019 Best Paper and Best Student Paper Awards, followed by the 2020 PODC Doctoral Dissertation Award. PODC 2019 Best Paper Award PODC 2019 Best Student Paper Award 2020 PODC Doctoral Dissertation Award Chang teaches courses such as CS3230 (Design and Analysis of Algorithms) and CS5275 (The Algorithm Designer's Toolkit). He advises Ph.D. students Hung Thuan Nguyen and Haoran Zhou, and has collaborated with postdoctoral researchers including Gopinath Mishra and Dean Leitersdorf.

Kok Sheik WongView profile

Professor

• Multimedia Signal Processing
• Cybersecurity
• Data Hiding
• +9 more

Kok Sheik Wong is a Professor and Deputy Head (Research) at the School of Information Technology, Monash University Malaysia. He holds a Doctor of Engineering from Shinshu University, Japan, and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from Utah State University, USA. His academic leadership and research excellence are central to his role at Monash. B.S. Computational Mathematics, Utah State University (2002) M.S. Computer Science, Utah State University (2006) M.S. Mathematics, Utah State University (2004) Doctor of Engineering, Shinshu University, Japan (2009) His research focuses on multimedia signal processing and cybersecurity , particularly in data hiding , reversible data hiding , coverless steganography , and multimedia encryption . He is also expanding into digital health , applying AI to mental health in workplace environments. His work aligns with UN SDGs, particularly in health and education. The recent publication trends show a strong emphasis on reversible data hiding , image watermarking , and AI-driven health applications . His interdisciplinary work spans computer science, engineering, and public health, with increasing focus on real-world impact through EU and national grants. He has received several honors, including: Academic of Science Malaysia - Young Scientist Network (2020) Best Paper Award, IWDW 2019 ITEX 2021 Gold Medal for BAITRADAR School of IT Excellence in Research Award (2022) Dr. Wong actively supervises PhD students and leads major research projects, including the EU-funded WAge project. He has served as an associate editor for IEEE Signal Processing Letters and the Journal of Information Security and Applications, and is a member of IEEE IFS and APSIPA technical committees. His grants reflect strong external collaboration and funding in cybersecurity and digital health. He is involved in key research labs and teams through Monash University and international consortia, particularly in the areas of multimedia security and digital health innovation. His leadership in the WAge project connects him with European and Asia-Pacific research networks, enhancing global impact.

Ivan CanayView profile

Professor

• Econometric Theory
• Partially Identified Models
• Moment Inequalities
• +5 more

Ivan Canay is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences Program at Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences. He holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (2008). His research focuses on econometric theory, particularly developing statistical methods for assessing partially identified models, including tests for moment inequalities and randomization-based inference techniques. Recent work addresses challenges in clustered data analysis, covariate-adaptive randomization, and regression discontinuity designs. Canay’s academic contributions include advancing methodologies for handling non-ignorable cluster sizes and improving the robustness of inference in settings with limited data. He serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Econometrics , Journal of Business and Economic Statistics , and Econometrics Journal . His work bridges theoretical econometrics with practical applications in policy evaluation and causal inference. Key research themes include: Partially identified models and moment inequality frameworks Bootstrap methods for clustered data Covariate-adaptive randomization in clinical trials Statistical software development (e.g., Stata modules) His publications emphasize methodological rigor while addressing real-world complexities in economic data. Current projects likely expand his work on inference under structural constraints and improving accessibility of econometric tools for applied researchers.

David SteurerView profile

Associate Professor

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Algorithms
• Sum-of-Squares Method
• +5 more

David Steurer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, where he leads the Institute for Theoretical Computer Science. His research bridges theoretical computer science, mathematics, and practical applications in machine learning and statistics. Steurer has made significant contributions to the understanding of sum-of-squares methods, semidefinite programming, and high-dimensional estimation problems. Steurer earned his B.Sc. & M.Sc. in Computer Science from Saarland University in 2006, followed by a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University in 2010 under the supervision of Sanjeev Arora. His doctoral dissertation, "On the Complexity of Unique Games and Graph Expansion," received an Honorable Mention for the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2011. Steurer's research focuses on algorithm design through mathematical programming relaxations, particularly semidefinite programming and the sum-of-squares method. His work addresses computational complexity of high-dimensional estimation problems including tensor decomposition, clustering, Gaussian mixture models, and stochastic block models. He also investigates algorithmic aspects of robustness and differential privacy, especially for estimation tasks. His theoretical contributions have practical implications for machine learning and data analysis in the presence of noise and adversarial conditions. Analysis of Steurer's recent publications reveals a consistent trajectory in advancing the sum-of-squares framework for high-dimensional estimation and robust statistics. His work demonstrates how sophisticated mathematical programming techniques can provide certifiable guarantees for challenging problems in machine learning. The research spans theoretical foundations while maintaining relevance to practical applications, particularly in scenarios involving corrupted or noisy data. A notable trend is the extension of sum-of-squares methods to handle increasingly complex statistical models while providing rigorous performance guarantees. ERC Consolidator Grant (2019) Michael and Sheila Held prize (2018, with Raghavendra) Invited speaker at International Congress of Mathematicians (2018) STOC Best Paper Award (2015) Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2014) NSF CAREER Award (2014) Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship (2014) FOCS Best Paper Award (2010) Steurer has advised numerous PhD students and postdocs who have gone on to prominent positions, including Sam Hopkins (now faculty at MIT), Jonathan Shi, and Aaron Potechin. His research is supported by multiple prestigious grants, including an ERC Consolidator Grant, an NSF CAREER Award, and a Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship. He has served on numerous program committees for top theoretical computer science conferences and has been recognized for his service to the community through roles such as internal member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Institute for Theoretical Studies at ETH Zurich. As head of the Institute for Theoretical Computer Science at ETH Zurich, Steurer leads a research group focused on advancing the theoretical foundations of computer science with particular emphasis on mathematical optimization methods. His team explores the boundaries of what can be efficiently computed in high-dimensional settings, with applications spanning machine learning, statistics, and data science. The group maintains strong connections with both theoretical and applied researchers across ETH and the broader academic community.

Benny SudakovView profile

Professor

• Extremal Graph and Hypergraph Theory
• Ramsey Theory
• Random Structures
• +5 more

Benny Sudakov is a Professor of Mathematics at ETH Zurich, where he conducts research in combinatorics. He has previously held positions at UCLA, Princeton University, and the Institute for Advanced Study. His work is supported by the SNSF grant 200021_196965. Research Interests: His primary research areas include Extremal Graph and Hypergraph Theory, Ramsey Theory, Random Structures, and the application of Algebraic and Probabilistic Methods in Combinatorics, with strong connections to Theoretical Computer Science. He investigates fundamental structural properties of discrete systems, such as the existence of regular subgraphs, extremal configurations, and the behavior of random combinatorial objects. The recent popular science articles on his work highlight a consistent trend of solving long-standing open problems in extremal combinatorics using sophisticated probabilistic and algebraic techniques. His research spans topics like equiangular lines, graph decompositions, and the emergence of cycles in sparse graphs, demonstrating a deep focus on the interplay between structure and randomness. Scientific Awards: No specific awards are mentioned in the provided text. Advising and Grants: He has advised numerous Ph.D. students, many of whom have gone on to become professors at top universities (e.g., Oxford, Stanford, CMU, ETH, Princeton). His research is currently funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). He has organized workshops and seminars, such as the Theory of Combinatorial Algorithms Mittagsseminar at ETH and a workshop at UCLA on Extremal and Probabilistic Combinatorics. Labs and Teams: He is a key member of the combinatorics group at ETH Zurich and co-organizes the Theory of Combinatorial Algorithms Mittagsseminar, a central forum for research discussions in discrete mathematics at the institution.