Will Perkins

Will Perkins is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology. Previously, he held faculty positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Birmingham (UK), and was an NSF Postdoc at Georgia Tech. He earned his PhD in 2011 from New York University's Courant Institute under Joel Spencer. His research focuses on algorithms, statistical physics, and discrete mathematics, particularly exploring algorithmic tractability of random computational problems, statistical physics spin models, and combinatorial methods derived from algorithmic intuition.

Research Interests: Algorithms, statistical physics, combinatorics, phase transitions, random graphs, and Gibbs measures. His work bridges theoretical computer science and statistical mechanics, addressing questions about sampling, phase coexistence, and algorithmic barriers.

Recent Activities: Director of the Algorithms and Randomness Center at Georgia Tech, Managing Editor of Combinatorial Theory, and Associate Editor of Random Structures and Algorithms and SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics. Upcoming engagements include the Rocky Mountain Summer Workshop (2024), Park City Mathematics Institute (2024), and conferences on Random Structures and Algorithms (2025).

Teaching: Courses include Design and Analysis of Algorithms (CS 3510), Advanced Algorithms (CS 4540), and specialized topics like Statistical Physics in Algorithms and Combinatorics (CS 8803). He has taught across institutions, including at the University of Birmingham and University of Illinois at Chicago.

Key Contributions: His work on phase transitions in combinatorial structures, algorithmic sampling in statistical physics models, and rigorous analysis of Gibbs measures has been published in top venues like FOCS, STOC, and Communications in Mathematical Physics. Notable results include hardness of sampling for anti-ferromagnetic Ising models and novel contour methods for Pirogov-Sinai theory.