Jugal Garg

Jugal Garg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with an affiliate appointment in the Department of Computer Science. His work bridges theoretical computer science, economics, and operations research, focusing on fundamental problems in market design and resource allocation.

Dr. Garg earned his BTech and PhD in Computer Science from IIT-Bombay. Following his doctoral studies, he completed postdoctoral research at the Algorithms and Randomness Center at Georgia Tech and the Algorithms and Complexity group at Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik in Saarbrücken. His academic journey has positioned him at the forefront of research at the intersection of computation and economics.

His research focuses on the computational aspects of economics and game theory, with particular emphasis on fair division problems and market equilibrium computation. Dr. Garg has made significant contributions to understanding envy-free allocation mechanisms, maximin share guarantees, and competitive equilibrium computation in various market settings. His work combines deep theoretical insights with practical algorithmic approaches, addressing fundamental questions in resource allocation where computational complexity meets economic efficiency.

Analysis of Dr. Garg's recent publications reveals a strong focus on fair division problems, particularly envy-free allocation (EFX), maximin share (MMS) approximations, and market equilibrium computation. His research spans both goods and chores allocation, with increasing attention to more complex settings involving mixed manna (both goods and chores), heterogeneous agents, and specialized utility functions. A notable trend is his development of combinatorial algorithms for market equilibrium computation and his work on improving approximation guarantees for fairness concepts in resource allocation.

• NSF CAREER Award (2020) - Recognizing his potential for leadership in research and education
• INFORMS Koopman Prize (2021) - For the paper 'Multi-Agent UAV Routing: A Game Theory Analysis with Tight Price of Anarchy Bounds'
• Exemplary Theory Paper Award (2020) - For 'EFX Exists for Three Agents' at ACM EC
• Dean's Award for Excellence in Research (2022)
• James Franklin Sharp Outstanding Teaching Award (2019)
• NSF CRII Award (2018)

Dr. Garg has successfully advised numerous PhD students including Peter McGlaughlin, Timothy Murray, Setareh Taki, John Qin, Eklavya Sharma, Yuang (Eric) Shen, Pooja Kulkarni, and Aniket Murhekar. He has also mentored postdoctoral researchers such as Bhaskar Ray Chaudhury (now an assistant professor at UIUC) and Vishnu V. Narayan. His research has been supported by prestigious grants including the NSF CAREER and CRII awards, and he serves on program committees for leading conferences in theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence, and operations research including EC, STOC, SODA, and AAAI. Dr. Garg maintains active collaborations with researchers across institutions worldwide, as evidenced by his frequent invited talks at international venues including the University of Bonn, LSE, and TIFR Mumbai.