Rentian Yao

Rentian Yao is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mathematics at the University of British Columbia, supervised by Geoffrey Schiebinger and Young-Heon Kim. He earned his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 2024 and a B.S. in Mathematics from Fudan University in 2019.

His academic background includes:

• Ph.D. in Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), 2024
• B.S. in Mathematics, Fudan University, 2019

His research integrates mathematical optimization, probability theory, and statistical learning, with core interests in optimization on probability spaces, optimal transport theory, complex dynamical systems, and Bayesian inference. This work bridges theoretical mathematics and practical applications in data science, enabling advanced modeling of high-dimensional structures and probabilistic phenomena.

Notable recognitions include:

• Norton Prize for outstanding thesis research in the Department of Statistics at UIUC (2023)
• ASA SBSS student paper award (2023)
• First Prize of Fudan University Scholarship (2018)
• Fudan Professional Scholarship for undergraduate studies (2016-2018)
• Silver Medal in China Mathematics Olympiad (2015)