Vikas Garg

Vikas Garg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, specializing in theoretical and applied aspects of Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence. His research focuses on applications of quantum methods and AI/ML in Computational Biology, Healthcare, Material Synthesis, Cybersecurity, Energy, and more. He is also the Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at YaiYai Oy, a company providing quantum and AI solutions to industries like Biopharma and FinTech.

Education: PhD in Computer Science (EECS) from MIT, supervised by Tommi Jaakkola, and held roles at IBM Research, Amazon A9, and Microsoft Research. His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to innovation and infrastructure.

Research Interests: Quantum Computing, Deep Learning, Generative Models, Drug Design, and applications in Healthcare and Energy. His work bridges machine learning with optimization and game theory, emphasizing practical solutions for real-world challenges.

Projects: Principal Investigator for initiatives like HEALED/Garg (drug design) and the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence. Collaborates widely with academia and industry leaders, including Regina Barzilay and Stefanie Jegelka.

Awards: Energy Fellow at MIT. His research has led to patents and publications in top venues like NeurIPS, ICML, and CVPR.

Advising & Grants: Leads projects funded by the Academy of Finland, focusing on drug discovery and AI advancements. Active in the Machine Learning for Pharmaceutical Discovery and Synthesis Symposium.