Lillian J. Ratliff

Lillian J. Ratliff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington, with adjunct appointments in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Her research bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in intelligent systems, focusing on strategic decision-making in complex environments.

Dr. Ratliff earned her PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley in 2015. She completed dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 2008, followed by a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from UNLV in 2010.

Her research expertise spans the intersection of game theory, economics, optimization, machine learning, and control theory. She develops theoretical frameworks for decision-making in intelligent systems with learning-enabled components and strategic agents. Her work addresses fundamental questions about convergence properties of learning algorithms in game-theoretic settings, equilibrium analysis in complex multi-agent systems, and the development of efficient algorithms for strategic decision-making. Her theoretical contributions have significant practical implications for understanding strategic interactions in systems ranging from transportation networks to human-AI collaboration.

Dr. Ratliff's recent publications reveal a strong focus on matrix games, Stackelberg games, and performative prediction, with applications spanning from human-computer interaction to multi-agent reinforcement learning. Her work demonstrates increasing sophistication in handling decision-dependent distributions and analyzing convergence properties of learning dynamics in complex strategic environments.

Her scientific achievements have been recognized with prestigious awards including:

• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2009)
• NSF CISE Research Initiation Initiative award (2017)
• NSF CAREER award (2019)
• ONR Young Investigator award (2020)
• UW College of Engineering Junior Faculty Award (2021)
• Dhanani Endowed Faculty Fellowship (2020)
• Invited speaker at the National Academy of Engineering China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium (2019)

Dr. Ratliff leads a research program funded by multiple National Science Foundation grants (CNS-1736582, CNS-1836819, CNS-1931718, CNS-1907907, CNS-1844729, CNS-1952011, CNS-1634136, CNS-1646912, CNS-1656873) and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program. Her research group investigates theoretical foundations for strategic decision-making with applications to intelligent transportation systems, human-machine interaction, and multi-agent reinforcement learning.

Her work is organized around theoretical foundations for decision-making in strategic environments, with applications to intelligent transportation systems, human-AI collaboration, and network congestion management. She maintains active collaborations across disciplines, including with researchers in computer science, aeronautics, control theory, and economics, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of her research program.