Nikhil Srivastava

Nikhil Srivastava is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Senior Scientist at the Simons Institute. He received his PhD in Computer Science from Yale University in 2010 under the supervision of Daniel Spielman, following his undergraduate studies at Union College. After postdoctoral positions at the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), MSRI, and a research position at Microsoft Research India, he joined UC Berkeley in 2015.

His research spans theoretical computer science and mathematics, with particular focus on spectral graph theory, random matrices, the geometry of polynomials, asymptotic convex geometry, and numerical analysis. His work often bridges the gap between pure mathematics and theoretical computer science, developing deep connections between polynomial methods, linear algebra, and combinatorial structures.

Srivastava's research has been recognized with several prestigious awards including the SIAM Polya Prize, the NAS Held Prize, and the AMS Foias Prize, highlighting his significant contributions to the field. His most recent work focuses on numerical linear algebra, spectral theory, and computational mathematics, with publications spanning from algorithmic foundations to applications in mathematical physics.

He actively mentors graduate students, currently advising Rikhav Shah, Zack Stier, and Isabel Detherage. His past students include Jorge Garza Vargas (co-advised with Dan Voiculescu), Theo McKenzie, Jess Banks, Satyaki Mukherjee, Archit Kulkarni, Nick Ryder, and Aaron Schild (co-advised with Satish Rao). His research has been supported by the NSF and the Sloan Foundation.

At Berkeley, Srivastava has been actively involved with the Simons Institute, participating in numerous programs including Complexity and Linear Algebra (Fall 2025), Sublinear Algorithms (Summer 2024), and several others dating back to 2013. He regularly teaches courses in mathematics, including Discrete Mathematics (Math 55) and Multivariable Calculus (Math 53), and runs a seminar on Discrete Analysis in Evans Hall.