Jelena Diakonikolas

Jelena Diakonikolas is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Sciences and (by courtesy) the Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and completed postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley's FODA TRIPODS Institute and Boston University.

• Research Focus: Large-scale optimization, first-order methods, and applications in machine learning and networked systems.
• Awards: NSF CAREER (2025), AFOSR Young Investigator (2023), Google ML & Systems Junior Faculty Award (2025), and multiple earlier accolades including Simons-Berkeley Research Fellowship and Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship.
• Leadership: Co-organized workshops on optimization, higher-order machine learning, and geometric methods; served on program committees for ICLR, ICML, and ICALP.
• Education: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Columbia University), M.S. in Electrical Engineering (Columbia University).

Her research bridges optimization theory with practical applications in wireless systems and machine learning. She co-founded the WISCERS program, which received exploreCSR funding for three years, and has been recognized for mentoring excellence. She has advised graduate students like Thomas Stahlbuhk and collaborated with prominent researchers including Mike Jordan and Lorenzo Orecchia.

Selected Scientific Awards:

• NSF CAREER (2025)
• Google ML & Systems Junior Faculty Award (2025)
• AFOSR Young Investigator Program award (2023)
• Mathematical Programming Meritorious Service Award (2022)
• Simons-Berkeley Research Fellowship (2018)
• Morton B. Friedman Prize for Excellence (2017)