Feng Yan

Dr. Feng Yan is an Associate Professor at the University of Houston's Computer Science Department, leading the Intelligent Data and Systems Lab (IDS Lab). He previously held an Associate Professor position at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on bridging Big Data, Machine Learning, and Systems, with interdisciplinary applications in wildfire science, materials engineering, and civil infrastructure. He has received prestigious awards such as the NSF CAREER Award and the Regents' Rising Researcher Award.

Education: Ph.D. (2016) and M.S. (2011) in Computer Science from College of William and Mary; B.S. (2008) in Computer Science from Northeastern University. Research experience includes roles at Microsoft Research and HP Labs.

Research Interests: Large Language Models (LLM), Distributed Deep Learning, AutoML, Serverless Computing, Federated Learning, and AI-driven domain sciences. His work emphasizes real-world impact through collaborations with industry and national labs.

Publications: Over 60+ papers in top-tier venues like NeurIPS, ICLR, KDD, AAAI, SOSP, SC, and VLDB. Key contributions include ZeRO++ (collective communication optimization), Gradient Compression techniques, and Federated Learning frameworks like TiFL and HDFL.

Awards: NSF EPSCoR Award ($20M), NSF CAREER Award, FAA BAKFAA Grant, and multiple best paper awards (IEEE CLOUD 2018, CLOUD 2019). Active in program committees for HPDC, ICAC, ICPE, and AAAI.

Advising: Supervised over 30+ graduate/undergraduate students, with placements at Microsoft Research, IBM, Oak Ridge National Lab, Facebook, and MathWorks. Runs a vibrant lab with a focus on interdisciplinary AI/Systems research.