Babak Salimi

Babak Salimi is an Assistant Professor at the Halicioglu Data Science Institute (HDSI) at the University of California San Diego. Previously, he was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Washington's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, working with Prof. Dan Suciu. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carleton University, advised by Prof. Leopoldo Bertossi.

His research focuses on integrating causal inference, theoretical data management, and machine learning to build decision-support systems that enhance interpretability for diverse users. Key areas include causal relational learning, fairness in data-driven decisions, and robust offline evaluation frameworks. He has pioneered work on causal DAG summarization, adversarial data corruption testing, and model-agnostic data valuation systems like KAIROS.

Salimi's contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards including the ACM SIGMOD Research Highlight Award and Best Paper Award, and the VLDB Best Demonstration Paper Award. His work bridges foundational data science principles with societal impact, emphasizing ethical AI practices and algorithmic accountability.

• Education: Ph.D., School of Computer Science, Carleton University
• Research Lab: HDSI's Causal Data Science Group
• Key Projects: Development of CausaLens, Zorro, and DEMA