Michael A Osborne is Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Oxford and leads the Bayesian Exploration Lab . He serves as Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Autonomous Intelligent Machines and Systems and co-directs the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative. His research focuses on Bayesian optimization, Gaussian processes, and probabilistic numerics with applications in quantum devices, battery modeling, and AI governance. Key Positions: Professor of Machine Learning, University of Oxford Official Fellow, Exeter College Co-founder of Mind Foundry Lead Researcher, Oxford Martin Programme on Technology and Employment Research Themes: Probabilistic modeling for quantum systems Uncertainty quantification in energy storage AI safety and societal impact analysis Automated experimental design Quantum device calibration Probabilistic numerical methods Technical Contributions: Bridging reality gap in quantum devices Efficient Bayesian quadrature techniques Personalized neurostimulation algorithms Automated measurement protocols Quantum-classical hybrid ML
Rakesh Kumar is a Professor and John Bardeen Faculty Scholar in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His work focuses on computer architecture, system-level design automation, and low-power computing. PhD in Computer Engineering from University of California, San Diego BS in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur His research spans all layers of the computing stack, with key contributions to flexible computer systems , waferscale computing , error-resilient architectures , and approximate computing . He has pioneered work on voltage-reliability tradeoffs and peak power management techniques. Recent publications highlight trends in space microdatacenters , printed microprocessors , and neural graph accelerators . His work on plastic chips was recognized as one of the three biggest semiconductor headlines of 2022 by IEEE Spectrum. IEEE Fellow (2024) ISCA Influential Paper Award MICRO Test-of-Time Award ICCAD Ten Year Retrospective Most Influential Paper Award Best Paper Awards at CASES, SELSE, HPCA He has received teaching accolades including the Stanley H. Pierce Faculty Award and Ronald W. Pratt Outstanding Teaching Award . His research group explores hardware-software co-design for emerging applications in AI, IoT, and sustainable computing.
Jelani Nelson is a Professor and Department Chair in the UC Berkeley EECS Department (College of Engineering). His work focuses on theoretical computer science , particularly algorithms , data streams , dimensionality reduction , and privacy-preserving computation . Advising : Current students include Ishaq Aden-Ali, Xin Lyu, Mihir Singhal, and Hongxun Wu (co-advised with leading researchers). Education : PhD from MIT (George M. Sprowls Award), M.Eng from MIT. Research Highlights : Developed foundational results in Johnson-Lindenstrauss dimensionality reduction (optimality, sparse embeddings). Advancements in differential privacy (lower bounds, private mean estimation, threshold learning). Pioneering work on streaming algorithms for heavy hitters, norm estimation, and graph problems. Innovations in compressed sensing and oblivious subspace embeddings . Scientific Awards : PODS Best Paper Award (2011, 2022) IBM Pat Goldberg Memorial Best Paper Award (2011) George M. Sprowls Award for MIT doctoral thesis (2009) NeurIPS 2020 Spotlight Presentation
Aise Johan de Jong is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University, where he teaches courses including representations of finite groups and organizes the algebraic geometry seminar. He is a leading figure in algebraic geometry with a particular focus on stacks theory and arithmetic aspects of algebraic varieties. Institution: Columbia University, Department of Mathematics Research Focus: Algebraic stacks, arithmetic geometry, moduli spaces Major Project: The Stacks Project (open-source collaborative textbook) De Jong's research primarily centers on algebraic stacks, arithmetic geometry, and the foundations of algebraic geometry. His work bridges abstract theoretical frameworks with concrete computational aspects, particularly in positive characteristic. He has made significant contributions to understanding Brauer groups, period-index problems, and the geometry of moduli spaces. His research often connects number theory with geometric structures, exploring how arithmetic properties manifest in geometric settings. His publication record shows a consistent focus on fundamental structures in algebraic geometry, with particular emphasis on stacks theory (evident in The Stacks Project), Brauer groups, rational connectivity, and arithmetic properties of algebraic varieties. The trajectory of his work demonstrates increasing sophistication in handling complex geometric structures while maintaining connections to arithmetic questions. His most recent work continues to explore the interplay between algebraic geometry and number theory, particularly through the lens of stacks and moduli spaces. De Jong actively mentors graduate students, with numerous descendants listed in the Mathematics Genealogy Project. His academic lineage includes researchers working across various subfields of algebraic geometry. He has organized multiple conferences including "Moduli spaces and moduli stacks" (2012) and "Spaces of curves and their interaction with diophantine problems" (2009), demonstrating his leadership in the field. He leads The Stacks Project, a major collaborative open-source initiative that has become an essential reference for algebraic geometers worldwide. This project provides comprehensive foundations for algebraic stacks and related concepts, with regular updates and community contributions. De Jong also maintains the Stacks Project Blog where he discusses mathematical topics related to the project and shares updates.
Quanquan C. Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Yale University, part of the School of Engineering & Applied Science. His research focuses on algorithms for large data, dynamic/distributed/parallel graph algorithms, and differential privacy. He holds a PhD from MIT's Theory Group, advised by Erik Demaine and Julian Shun, with postdoctoral experience at Northwestern University and MIT. Liu has authored over 50 publications in top venues like FOCS, SPAA, and STACS, and received a Best Paper Award at SPAA 2022. He advises a team of 12+ students, including PhD and undergraduate researchers. His service roles include PC membership for PPoPP, ESA, and SPAA, and coaching for the USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) and ICPC teams. Notable research contributions include advancements in parallel algorithms for graph problems and privacy-preserving techniques.
Alexander Gorodnik is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Zurich, focusing on the interplay between dynamical systems and number theory. His work bridges ergodic theory, homogeneous dynamics, and Diophantine approximation, with applications to arithmetic counting problems and geometric distribution of lattice orbits. Current lectures include MAT121: Analysis I and MAT221: Analysis III at the University of Zurich Co-author of the book The ergodic theory of lattice subgroups (Princeton University Press, 2010) Editor of the journal Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems His research explores Diophantine approximation through dynamical systems, investigating how orbits of group actions distribute in homogeneous spaces. Key topics include mixing properties , central limit theorems , and metric theorems for multiplicative approximation. Recent publications address automorphic density estimates , discrepancy in intrinsic Diophantine approximation , and effective equidistribution of translated measures. His work often employs tools from representation theory and spectral analysis . Current working group members include Zhiyuan Deng , Zouhair Ouaggag , and Yuval Yifrach . He has taught courses at institutions in Zurich, Bristol, Princeton, and Mumbai, with lecture materials covering topics from ergodic theorems to Každan's property (T) .
Jan Dreier is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Logic and Computation at Vienna University of Technology. His research centers on structural graph theory and algorithmic meta-theorems, particularly exploring the boundaries of tractability for model checking problems. Dreier's work bridges theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, focusing on graph decompositions, parameterized complexity, and logical expressiveness. Key research themes include monadic stability in graph classes, applications of model theory to computer science, and efficient algorithms for logical queries on structured graphs. His publication record shows consistent focus on graph sparsity concepts and algorithmic applications of logic, with recent work expanding into approximation methods for counting queries. Research demonstrates sophisticated applications of combinatorial methods to fundamental problems in computational complexity.
Kuldeep S. Meel is the Stephen Fleming Early-Career Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology, and an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto (on leave). He previously held a NUS Presidential Young Professorship at the National University of Singapore. His research focuses on automated reasoning, aiming to enable computing systems to handle uncertain real-world environments through scalable techniques integrating randomized algorithms, statistical inference, formal methods, distribution testing, and software engineering. Core research areas: Automated Reasoning, Formal Methods, Approximate Model Counting, Probabilistic Inference, Constraint Solving His research group has achieved significant recognition in both individual awards and publications. Key trends in his recent work include advancing model counting algorithms, developing frameworks for probabilistic explanations, and improving scalability in formal verification and constraint satisfaction. His tools have consistently ranked top in international competitions, demonstrating practical impact in automated reasoning. 2019 NRF Fellowship for AI 2022 ACP Early Career Researcher Award 2020 IEEE Intelligent Systems AI's 10 to Watch Top placements in Model Counting, SAT, and CAV competitions He mentors a diverse group of PhD and Master's students and collaborates with institutions worldwide. His group's publications span premier conferences in AI, formal methods, and design automation, reflecting interdisciplinary contributions to theoretical and applied computer science.
Ali Vakilian is a Research Assistant Professor at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC), with a strong academic background in theoretical computer science and algorithms. He will join the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2025. His research bridges algorithmic theory and machine learning, focusing on scalable, fair, and efficient algorithms for massive data. Education: Ph.D. in EECS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), advisors: Erik Demaine and Piotr Indyk M.S. in Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), advisor: Chandra Chekuri B.S. in Computer Engineering, Sharif University of Technology Research Interests: Ali Vakilian's work centers on the algorithmic foundations of machine learning and data science. He develops streaming, sketching, and sublinear-time algorithms for massive datasets, and pioneers learning-augmented algorithms that use machine learning predictions to improve performance while maintaining worst-case guarantees. His research in trustworthy ML includes algorithmic fairness, fair clustering, and learning with strategic agents. He also contributes to combinatorial optimization and approximation algorithms for network design, set cover, and low-rank approximation. His recent publications (2023–2025) show a consistent focus on fair clustering (individual and group fairness), streaming graph algorithms , learning-augmented methods , and frequency estimation . These works appear in top venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, SODA, and ICALP, often with recognitions like oral or spotlight presentations. Scientific Awards: Outstanding Student Paper Highlight Award, AISTATS 2024 Notable-top-25% paper, ICLR 2023 Oral presentation, AISTATS 2024 Spotlight presentation, NeurIPS 2023 Advising and Grants: Ali Vakilian mentors several students and interns, including summer interns at TTIC and Fatima Fellows. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation (TRIPODS program), as noted in the press coverage of his work on LearnedSketch. He actively contributes to the academic community through advising, organizing workshops (e.g., Algorithms with Predictions, Learning-Augmented Algorithms), and serving on program committees (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, AISTATS). Labs and Teams: He is affiliated with the theory and algorithms group at TTIC and collaborates with researchers at MIT, UIUC, and other institutions. His work on learning-augmented algorithms has led to influential workshops and collaborations with leading figures such as Piotr Indyk and Erik Demaine.
Professor Alexandra M. Schmidt is a leading academic in Biostatistics at McGill University, holding an endowed University Chair. She specializes in spatial and spatio-temporal modeling, particularly in epidemiology and environmental health. Previously, she served as a Full Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2012–2016). Her research focuses on Bayesian methodologies for analyzing complex processes, including disease spread, environmental hazards, and socio-economic disparities. She has authored influential books such as Spatio-Temporal Methods in Environmental Epidemiology with R (2023) and contributed to over 150 peer-reviewed articles. Key awards include the ISBA Fellowship (2024), ASA Fellowship (2020), and the Abdel El-Shaarawi Award (2008). Education: PhD in Statistics (2001, University of Sheffield, UK), MSc and BSc in Statistics (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Research interests span Bayesian inference, spatial statistics, and environmental epidemiology. She has advised numerous PhD/MSc students and collaborated on projects linking statistical methods to public health challenges, such as modeling dengue outbreaks and air pollution impacts. Active in academic service, she has chaired major conferences (e.g., 2022 ISBA World Meeting) and serves on editorial boards of top journals like Bayesian Analysis and Canadian Journal of Statistics . Teaching includes advanced courses on generalized linear models, spatial epidemiology, and Bayesian analysis. Her work bridges theoretical statistics with practical applications, addressing global health issues through innovative spatio-temporal modeling techniques.
Monika Henzinger is Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), heading the research group of Theory and Applications of Algorithms. She also serves as Vice President for Technology Transfer at ISTA since 2024. Previously, she held professorships at the University of Vienna (2009-2023) and EPFL, Switzerland (2005-2009), was Director of Research at Google (1999-2005), and served as Assistant Professor at Cornell University. Professor Henzinger's research centers on efficient algorithms and data structures with three main thrusts. First, she investigates dynamic settings where program inputs are repeatedly updated, seeking solutions faster than restarting computations. Second, she develops privacy-preserving algorithms that add minimal noise to protect input data while maintaining efficiency. Third, she translates theoretically optimal algorithms into practical implementations for dynamically changing inputs. Her work consistently addresses resource conservation in data processing, particularly computing time and memory space, while exploring the theoretical limits of possible savings. Henzinger's recent publications (2024-2025) reveal strong trends in dynamic algorithms, differential privacy, and graph theory. Her research consistently bridges theoretical computer science with practical applications, focusing on algorithms that adapt to changing inputs while preserving computational efficiency and data privacy. She has made significant contributions to problems like dynamic matching, minimum cut computation, and privacy-preserving data analysis across various domains. Professor Henzinger has received numerous prestigious awards and honors: Wittgenstein Award (2021) Two ERC Advanced Grants (2014, 2021) Carus Medal of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2019) SIGIR Test of Time Award Fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery (2016) Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2017) CAREER Development Award of the National Science Foundation Best paper Award at the Symposium on Discrete Algorithms (2024) Professor Henzinger currently advises PhD students Bardiya Aryanfard, Antoine El-Hayek, and Roodabeh Safavi Hemami, along with postdocs Anamay Chaturvedi and Niklas Hahn. Her research is supported by multiple significant grants including an ERC Advanced Grant for 'Design and Evaluation of Modern, Fully Dynamic Data Structures,' the FWF Wittgenstein Prize, and the WEAVE Project on 'Static and dynamic hierarchical graph decompositions.' She also serves as Principal Investigator for the FWF project 'Fast algorithms for a reactive network layer,' providing substantial funding for her innovative work in algorithms and data structures. Professor Henzinger leads the Theory and Applications of Algorithms research group at ISTA, which focuses on developing practical algorithms for dynamic environments. Her team investigates resource conservation in data processing, specializing in dynamic algorithms that efficiently handle changing inputs, privacy-preserving algorithms that minimize noise while protecting data, and translating theoretical algorithms into practical implementations. The group maintains a strong presence in theoretical computer science through regular publications in top conferences and journals, and collaborates extensively with institutions worldwide to advance algorithmic research.
Chandra Chekuri is the Paul and Cynthia Saylor Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, situated within the Grainger College of Engineering. He has been actively contributing to theoretical computer science for over two decades, with significant leadership roles including serving as Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious SIAM Journal on Computing since May 2025. His academic journey began with a B.Tech in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1993, followed by a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University in 1998. Prior to joining UIUC, he spent eight years as a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies. Chekuri's research focuses on theoretical computer science with particular emphasis on the design and analysis of algorithms, discrete and combinatorial optimization, approximation algorithms, mathematical programming, and graph theory. His work explores fundamental connections between discrete structures and optimization problems, with applications spanning network design, data analysis, and computational complexity. His recent publications demonstrate a continued focus on hypergraph algorithms, submodular function optimization, and graph partitioning problems, showing how theoretical insights can yield practical algorithmic improvements. His approach often combines continuous relaxations with discrete rounding techniques to develop approximation algorithms for NP-hard problems. As Editor-in-Chief of SIAM Journal on Computing, Chekuri leads one of theoretical computer science's most respected publications, which covers analysis and design of algorithms, algorithmic game theory, computational complexity, and other mathematical aspects of computer science. His editorial leadership follows previous service as Associate Editor for several major journals including SIAM Journal on Computing, Mathematics of Operations Research, and Mathematical Programming. ACM Fellow (January 2024) Scott Fisher Teaching Award (for year 2022-23) from CS Department Chekuri has advised numerous PhD students to completion, including Kent Quanrud, Vivek Madan, Shalmoli Gupta, and Chao Xu, with several currently in progress such as Tanvi Bajpai, ElFarouk Harb, Rhea Jain, and Weihao Zhu. His teaching portfolio includes graduate courses on Randomized Algorithms, Approximation Algorithms, Algorithms for Big Data, and Combinatorial Optimization. He has served as Director of the Graduate Program in the Department of Computer Science from May 2014 to August 2017, demonstrating significant administrative leadership within the department.
Supratik Chakraborty serves as the Bajaj Group Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He maintains dual affiliations with the Centre for Formal Design and Verification of Software and the Centre for Liberal Education at IIT Bombay, demonstrating his cross-disciplinary engagement. Professor Chakraborty's research spans formal methods with focus on formal verification, rigorous analysis of system models, and automated synthesis of systems from specifications. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications, particularly in developing mathematically provable guarantees for increasingly complex hardware, software, and intelligent systems. Current research interests include constrained counting and sampling, scalable formal verification of software and hardware systems, automated synthesis of programs and circuits, and applications of automata, logic and finite model theory to practical verification challenges. His publication trajectory shows a significant evolution from traditional hardware and software verification toward addressing verification challenges in machine learning and AI systems. Recent work increasingly focuses on interpretability of black-box models, verification of neural networks, and synthesis techniques applicable to intelligent systems. The research demonstrates strong interdisciplinary connections between formal methods, programming languages, and artificial intelligence. IIT Bombay Excellence in Thesis (CSE) Award 2011 (for Bhargav Gulavani's thesis) IIT Bombay Excellence in Thesis (CSE) Award 2017 (for Abhisekh Sankaran's thesis) Best Paper in Algorithms and Architecture track at IEEE International Conference on Computer Design: VLSI in Computers and Processors, 1998 Professor Chakraborty has successfully supervised 11 doctoral students, with research spanning formal verification techniques, Boolean functional synthesis, constrained counting, and applications to hardware and software systems. His students have gone on to positions at major institutions including Microsoft Research, TCS Research, Georgia Tech, and BARC, reflecting the strong industry and academic impact of his mentorship. Current research directions show increasing emphasis on verification challenges posed by machine learning systems and AI. His research group at IIT Bombay, while not explicitly named in the materials, appears to focus on formal methods with strong connections to the Centre for Formal Design and Verification of Software. The group maintains active collaborations with international researchers including Moshe Y. Vardi at Rice University, and has made significant contributions to verification tools like VeriAbs that bridge theoretical advances with practical applications.
Leslie Ann Goldberg is a Senior Research Fellow at St Edmund Hall and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford. She currently serves as Head of the Department of Computer Science (on sabbatical 2025-26) and focuses on foundational problems in Algorithms and Complexity Theory , particularly randomised algorithms for network communication, machine learning, and statistical physics models. Her research includes solving Aldous' 1987 conjecture on backoff protocol instability (with John Lapinskas), developing rigorous mathematical analysis frameworks for algorithmic efficiency, and advancing approximate counting techniques via Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods (with Andreas Galanis and collaborators). Key projects involve graph homomorphisms , Moran process dynamics , and #BIS complexity class analysis. Recent publications (2023-2024) span topics like Sybil defense mechanisms, low-temperature sampling on random graphs, and parameterised subgraph counting modulo 2. Her work demonstrates cross-disciplinary impact in computational biology, statistical physics, and database theory. Scientific Awards include Best Paper Prizes at ICALP 2016, ICALP 2010, and IPEC 2017. She supervises PhD student Paulina Smolarova and collaborates extensively with researchers in Oxford and beyond.
Professor Paul Fearnhead is a leading academic in Statistics at Lancaster University 's School of Mathematical Sciences . His research focuses on Bayesian and Computational Statistics , with applications in Anomaly Detection , Continuous-time Markov Processes , and Changepoint Analysis . Department: Mathematics and Statistics Academic Rank: Professor Email: p.fearnhead@lancaster.ac.uk His work bridges theoretical statistics and computational efficiency, notably through pruning techniques for change detection and novel Monte Carlo methods. Current projects include AI Hub initiatives, probabilistic AI foundations, and real-time anomaly detection in streaming data. Research outputs span Bayesian Analysis , Time Series Modeling , and Scalable Statistical Algorithms , with applications in fields like astronomy and epidemiology. Recent publications emphasize simulation-based composite likelihoods and efficient distributed changepoint detection. Scientific contributions include leadership roles in the STOR-i Centre for Doctoral Training and Data Science Institute (DSI) projects such as CoSInES and Statscale. He supervises PhD students including Dylan Bahia, Yuntang Fan, and Ziyang Yang.
