Ajit Rajwade is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering , Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. His research spans Artificial Intelligence , Compressed Sensing , and Medical Imaging , with affiliations to the Centre for Machine Intelligence and Data Science and the Koita Centre for Digital Health . Education : PhD in Computer and Information Science and Engineering, University of Florida (2010) MSc in Computer Science, McGill University (2004) BTech in Computer Engineering, University of Pune (2002) His research interests focus on intelligent data acquisition, particularly in neural network analysis , graph signal processing , and medical imaging . He develops compressed sensing algorithms for inverse problems like tomography and MRI reconstruction , alongside applying group testing to pandemic response. Scientific awards include the Prof. S. P. Sukhatme Award (2024) and Departmental Teaching Excellence (2019). His publications demonstrate expertise in image restoration , noise modeling , and epidemiological algorithms . He has advised PhD students like Sabyasachi Ghosh and Jerin Geo James , with a focus on computationally efficient methods in medical imaging and machine learning .
Ji Zhu is the Susan A. Murphy Collegiate Professor of Statistics at the University of Michigan, Department of Statistics. He holds affiliations with the Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS) and the Michigan Integrated Center for Health Analytics and Medical Prediction (MiCHAMP). His research focuses on statistical machine learning, network analysis, and health science applications. Education: B.Sc. in Physics (Peking University, 1996), M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Statistics (Stanford University, 2000 and 2003). Notable awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2008), Fellowships from the ASA (2013) and IMS (2015), and recognition as a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (2014–2020). Research interests span statistical methodologies for networks, survival analysis, and high-dimensional data. He co-authored influential papers on community detection, network cross-validation, and latent space models. Current editorial roles include Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Applied Statistics and Action Editor for the Journal of Machine Learning Research. Advising: Supervised over 50 students and postdocs, many now in academia and industry. Notable former advisees include Tianxi Li (University of Minnesota), Yuan Zhang (Ohio State University), and Weijing Tang (Carnegie Mellon University). Labs/Teams: Active in interdisciplinary projects at MIDAS and MiCHAMP, focusing on healthcare analytics and predictive modeling for diseases like hepatitis and cardiovascular outcomes.
Bryon Aragam is an Associate Professor of Econometrics and Statistics and Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research focuses on the intersection of causality, statistical machine learning, and probabilistic modeling, with particular emphasis on applications to artificial intelligence systems including large language models like ChatGPT and generative models like DALL-E. Dr. Aragam completed his PhD in Statistics and a Masters in Applied Mathematics at UCLA, where he was an NSF graduate research fellow. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, he was a project scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University. Research Focus: Causal structure learning in probabilistic generative models Key Areas: Causal machine learning, deep generative models, latent variable models, statistical learning theory Applications: AI interpretability, ethics, and fairness in artificial intelligence systems Teaching: Business Statistics, Econometrics and Statistics Colloquium His recent publications demonstrate a strong theoretical foundation combined with practical applications, particularly in understanding and improving AI systems. His work spans causal discovery, graphical models, deep learning, and latent variable modeling, with particular attention to the theoretical properties of these methods and their applications to real-world AI challenges. The research shows a progression toward increasingly complex problems in causal representation learning and AI interpretability. Scientific Awards: Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar NSF Graduate Research Fellow Dr. Aragam's work has been published in top statistics and machine learning venues including the Annals of Statistics, Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), and the Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR). His research group publishes broadly across both statistical and machine learning communities, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of his work at the intersection of statistics, machine learning, and causal inference. As a data science consultant for technology and marketing firms, Dr. Aragam has applied his expertise to problems in survey design, customer retention, logistics, and ranking, bridging the gap between theoretical research and practical applications.
Thomas C. M. Lee is a Distinguished Professor of Statistics and Associate Dean of the Faculty in Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of California, Davis, within the College of Letters and Science. He holds a prominent position in the Department of Statistics and serves as a key academic leader at UC Davis. Education: B.App.Sc. (Math) from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (1992) B.Sc. (Hons) (Math) with University Medal from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (1993) Ph.D. from Macquarie University and CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences, Sydney, Australia (1997) Professor Lee's research spans multiple areas of statistics with a focus on developing innovative methodologies. His work particularly emphasizes nonparametric and semiparametric modeling , statistical learning , and statistical image and signal processing . He has made significant contributions to applying statistical methods across various scientific disciplines, demonstrating the versatility and power of statistical approaches in solving complex real-world problems. His research often bridges theoretical developments with practical applications, creating methodologies that are both mathematically sound and practically useful. Scientific Awards and Honors: Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, 2019) Elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) Elected Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) Elected Senior Member of the IEEE Professor Lee has held significant editorial roles including serving as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics (2013-2015) and currently as Review Editor for the Journal of the American Statistical Association. From 2015 to 2018, he chaired the Department of Statistics at UC Davis. He has taught numerous statistics courses including STA 13 (Elementary Statistics), STA 131C (Introduction to Mathematical Statistics), STA 243 (Computational Statistics), and STA 401 (Statistical Consulting). His leadership extends beyond research to academic administration, where he has shaped statistics education and departmental direction at UC Davis.
Leland Bybee is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business . He leverages machine learning and natural language processing to address economic and financial questions, particularly focusing on belief measurement with applications to asset pricing and behavioral economics. Ph.D. in Financial Economics, Yale School of Management (2024) M.S. in Statistics, University of Michigan (2017) B.A. in Economics, University of Chicago (2013) His research integrates computational methods with economic theory to analyze: Textual analysis of business news for macroeconomic tracking Narrative-driven asset pricing models Memory-based belief formation using kernel methods Macroeconomic determinants of currency returns He has received multiple awards including: Dimension Fund Advisors Distinguished Paper Award BlackRock Applied Research Award HEC Top Finance Graduate Award The Brattle Group PhD Candidates Award EFA Engelbert Dockner Memorial Prize Bybee teaches Machine Learning in Finance and participates in finance seminars, contributing computational tools like regIPCA (Python) and changepointsHD (R) to the research community.
Niels Richard Hansen is a Professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences , University of Copenhagen, leading research at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Statistics . He co-founded the Copenhagen Causality Lab and focuses on automating causal explanation discovery from data using Bayesian networks, stochastic processes, predictive models, and machine learning. His work emphasizes creating interpretable and robust AI systems capable of generalizing across domains. His research has produced over 56 publications spanning causal inference , graphical modeling , stochastic processes , and machine learning . Recent work includes: Predictive and causal learning (2018 keynote) High-dimensional regression solutions (2016 lecture) Interdisciplinary applications in actuarial science , environmental statistics , and neuroscience He actively contributes to scientific communication through media appearances and public explanations of statistical concepts, including analyses of: Gaussian correlation inequality proofs Daylight saving time and blood clots Mathematical approaches to lotteries Climate change vs lunar effects
Mohsen Pourahmadi is a Professor in the Department of Statistics at Texas A&M University, part of the College of Arts & Sciences. His research focuses on developing methodologies for modeling covariance matrices in multivariate and time series data, with applications to financial analysis, longitudinal studies, neuroeconomics, and high-dimensional data. Key tools include graphical lasso algorithms, Cholesky decomposition, and Bayesian approaches. He emphasizes extending generalized linear models (GLM) to covariance matrix estimation, leveraging prediction theory and stochastic processes. Education details are not explicitly provided in the text. His work spans theoretical advancements in covariance estimation, such as sparse VAR models, nonstationary process analysis, and regularized multivariate regression. He has contributed to applications like detecting cyber attacks on infrastructure systems and analyzing breast cancer data through Bayesian networks. Research interests include time series graphical models, antedependence models for longitudinal data, and regularization techniques for high-dimensional covariance matrices. His recent work explores fused-lasso penalties, Bayesian correlation matrix estimation, and stationary subspace analysis. Pourahmadi has authored numerous articles on topics ranging from multivariate volatility modeling to nonparametric covariance estimation, emphasizing both computational efficiency and theoretical rigor.
David Rossell is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona, Spain. He is affiliated with the Statistics@UPF research group and directs the Master in Data Science at the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE). Previously, he held positions at IRB Barcelona as head of the Biostatistics Unit and at the University of Warwick's Statistics Department. He obtained his PhD in Statistics from Rice University, Houston (USA), and conducted postdoctoral research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center under Professors Valen Johnson and Veera Baladandayuthapani. Research Interests: Rossell specializes in high-dimensional statistical inference, Bayesian methods, computational statistics, and applications in biomedicine and social sciences. His work emphasizes methodology for complex data integration, variable selection, graphical models, and experimental design. Key areas include non-local priors, scalable Bayesian computation, and the development of R packages for statistical analysis (e.g., casper , chroGPS , gaga ). Publications: His recent work focuses on advancing Bayesian variable selection, graphical models with external data, and causal inference. Themes include leveraging external datasets for improved model accuracy, robustness to model misspecification, and applications in healthcare and complex mixture analysis. His contributions span methodological innovation and computational tools for high-dimensional problems. Funding & Grants: Rossell has secured funding through Spanish and European grants, including Juan de la Cierva Fellowships, AGAUR fellowships, and Marie Slodowska-Curie Actions. He supports PhD and postdoctoral researchers through programs like La Caixa InPhD and Beca Beautriu de Pinós. Labs & Teams: He leads the BSE Data Science Center and contributes to interdisciplinary collaborations at UPF and IRB Barcelona, bridging statistical theory and practical applications in genomics, epigenomics, and health data analysis.
Jingbo Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with an affiliate appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received his B.E. (2012) from Tsinghua University, M.A. (2014) and Ph.D. (2018) from Princeton University, all in Electrical Engineering, followed by a postdoc at MIT IDSS. Education Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Princeton University (2018) M.A. in Electrical Engineering, Princeton University (2014) B.E. in Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University (2012) His research focuses on statistical inference under systems constraints, information-theoretic inequalities, graphical models, and applications of high-dimensional probability to information sciences. Key areas include mutual covering bounds, hypercontractivity, Brascamp-Lieb inequalities, and their connections to machine learning and communication systems. Recent work applies information theory to generative AI, analyzing diffusion models' utility, privacy enhancements, and computational efficiency. He also investigates statistical physics techniques for high-dimensional problems like Lasso distributional limits and tensor model free energy, with applications in variable selection and PCA. Scientific awards include the Thomas M. Cover Dissertation Award (2018) and Princeton's Wallace Memorial Fellowship (2016). Courses taught include STAT 578 (High-Dimensional Statistics), STAT 430 (Nonparametric Statistics), and STAT 542 (Statistical Learning).
Yi Li is the M. Anthony Schork Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. With a PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan (1999) and postdoctoral training at Harvard (1999-2000), Dr. Li has established himself as a leading researcher in statistical methodology with applications across multiple biomedical domains. Dr. Li's research spans survival analysis, data science, high-dimensional inference, machine learning, deep learning, spatial data analysis, random-effects models, clinical trial design, and infectious disease modeling. His methodological work finds application in cancer genetics/genomics, radiomics, racial disparity analysis, chronic disease research, and opioid overuse studies. With over 230 publications in major statistical journals including JASA, Biometrika, JRSSB, and Biometrics, as well as premier subject matter journals like PNAS, JAMA, and JCO, Dr. Li's work has significantly impacted both statistical theory and biomedical applications. His research portfolio demonstrates consistent evolution from foundational methodological work in survival analysis and spatial statistics to cutting-edge applications in high-dimensional data, machine learning, and deep learning approaches for complex biomedical problems. The recent publications reveal increasing focus on integrating multiple data sources, causal inference in observational studies, and developing interpretable machine learning models for clinical applications. Dr. Li's work has been continuously supported by NIH funding since 2003, including multiple National Cancer Institute grants (R01 CA95747, 1P01CA134294-010002, R21CA157219, R01CA249096, R01CA269398) and a National Institute on Aging grant (R21AG058198). He actively collaborates with researchers from the University of Michigan and Harvard University on clinical and observational studies. As an educator, Dr. Li has taught advanced courses in survival analysis and statistical methods, mentoring the next generation of biostatisticians. His methodological contributions have been widely recognized through invitations to serve on NIH study sections (BMRD 2008-2012, EPIC 2015-2019) and as Associate Editor for leading statistical journals including Journal of the American Statistical Association, Biometrics, and Scandinavian Journal of Statistics.
Aaron J Molstad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, within the College of Science and Engineering. His research lies at the intersection of statistical methodology and genomic data science, with a focus on developing rigorous and scalable methods for modern high-dimensional datasets. His research interests include high-dimensional statistics, covariance and precision matrix estimation, regression modeling with structured responses, variable selection, and integrative analysis of omics data. He develops methods tailored for compositional data, multivariate responses, and ancestry-specific genetic association studies, contributing to both theoretical statistics and public health applications. The recent publications and funded projects highlight a strong trend in developing objective, reliable, and heterogeneous-aware statistical frameworks for genomics and biomedicine. His work emphasizes methodological innovation with direct applicability to complex biological data, particularly in diverse populations and multi-omics integration. Awarded grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health demonstrate recognition of his research’s significance and impact. These include projects on inference from omics data, new regression models for categorical responses, and integrative genomics in African American populations. Objective and reliable methods for inference from modern omics data (NSF, 2024–2027) Collaborative Research: New Regression Models for Multiple Categorical Responses (NSF, 2024–2025) Integrative Genomics into Genetic Association Studies of Blood Pressure and Stroke in African Americans (NIH/Fred Hutchinson, 2023–2024) Dr. Molstad advises and collaborates on major genomic studies involving protein expression, blood pressure, stroke, and ancestry-specific effects. While specific PhD students are not listed, his role as Principal Investigator on multiple grants indicates mentorship of graduate researchers and postdoctoral scholars. He is also active in the broader statistical community, with publications in top-tier journals such as Biometrika , Biometrics , and Genome Biology .
Ping Wang is a Professor in the Department of Asian Languages & Literature at the University of Washington, serving as Graduate Program Coordinator and Graduate Admissions & Education Committee Chair. They hold a Ph.D. in Chinese Language and Literature from the University of Washington (2006). Their research focuses on Chinese Intellectual History, Medieval Philology, Poetry and Poetics, and Translation Studies. Recent research trends include interdisciplinary approaches to classical texts and modern translation methodologies. The listed articles highlight contributions to computational linguistics and AI, though primary disciplinary focus remains humanities. No specific awards are listed, though the department's 'Awards & Honors' page may contain institutional recognitions. Advising emphasizes graduate education coordination rather than individual student mentorship. Active in departmental administration and curriculum development. Research affiliations include the Bilingual and Biliteracy Research Lab and the Early Buddhist Manuscript Project. Office located in GWN M246 with regular Thursday office hours.
Dootika Vats is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). She earned her PhD in Statistics from the University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities, and her research focuses on advancing Monte Carlo and Bayesian computational methods, especially Markov chain Monte Carlo diagnostics. Education: PhD, Statistics, University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities, Feb 2017 MS, Statistics, University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities, Nov 2016 MS, Statistics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, May 2012 BA (honors), Mathematics, University of Delhi, Lady Shri Ram College, May 2010 Research Interests: Her work lies at the intersection of computational statistics and Bayesian inference, with core emphases on: Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methodology Monte Carlo variance estimation and output analysis Bayesian computation and diagnostics Geometric ergodicity and convergence rates of MCMC algorithms Recent Publications Trend: Across her recent articles and preprints, Dr. Vats has consistently tackled open problems in MCMC output analysis, introducing new diagnostics, optimal batch-size selection, and visualization tools that directly impact practical Bayesian computation. Her contributions bridge theoretical rigor—such as proving strong consistency of spectral variance estimators—with immediately applicable software and graphical methods. Awards & Honors: Director’s Award, University of Minnesota School of Statistics, 2016 Graduate Research Partnership Program Fellowship, Summer 2016 Louise T. Dosdall Fellowship for Women in STEM, 2016–2017 School of Statistics Alumni Fellowship, 2015–2016 Martin–Buehler Fellowship in Statistics, Fall 2015 Bernard W. Lindgren Graduate Student Teaching Award, Spring 2014 Lynn Lin Fellowship in Statistics, Summer 2014 Teaching & Mentoring: At IIT Kanpur she continues to teach and mentor within the statistics curriculum. Earlier, at the University of Minnesota, she served as Instructor for STAT 3011 and as a teaching assistant across multiple undergraduate and graduate courses; at Rutgers University she was a part-time lecturer in calculus and pre-calculus. Labs & Collaboration: While no specific lab is named, her research is computational and collaborative; she has worked with James M. Flegal, Galin L. Jones, and other leading MCMC methodologists, and her Google Summer of Code participation demonstrates engagement with the open-source statistics community.
Zoey Jiang is an Assistant Professor of Business Technologies at the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University since 2020. She holds a PhD from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (2020) and dual bachelor’s degrees in BA/BS from Peking University (2014). Her research bridges data science and operations management through innovative applications in AI collaboration, pricing optimization, and healthcare analytics. Education : PhD (University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, 2020), BA/BS (Peking University, 2014) Research Interests focus on: Human-AI collaboration frameworks High-dimensional choice modeling for retail analytics Competitive pricing mechanisms Crowdsourcing contest optimization Healthcare operations through behavioral data Key Publications demonstrate expertise in: Machine learning for substitution patterns in online retail Real-time AI assistance in healthcare Dynamic feedback policies in crowdsourcing Competitive pricing at scale Scientific Recognition : Recipient of Ross T&O Research Productivity Award (2019) Professional Contributions include: INFORMS TIMES Vice President (2025) Editorial reviewing for Management Science , Information Systems Research , and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Teaching covers data science applications in business through courses like: Data Exploration and Visualization Data Mining & Business Analytics Seminar in Business Tech: Human-AI Interactions
Salar Fattahi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, affiliated with the College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering. He holds additional appointments with the Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering (MICDE), Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS), and the Michigan Center for Applied and Interdisciplinary Mathematics (MCAIM). PhD in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology Research Focus: Developing scalable computational methods for structured optimization and machine learning problems by exploiting sparsity, low-rankness, and benign landscape properties. Applications span gene regulatory networks, power systems, and brain connectivity modeling. 2025: Parametric algorithms for MIQPs over trees 2024: Triple Component Matrix Factorization for global/local/noise separation 2023: Robust subspace recovery and dictionary learning Scientific Recognition: NSF CAREER Award (2023) INFORMS Best Paper Awards (2023, 2024) Dean’s MLK Spirit Award (2024) MICDE Catalyst Grant (2021) Academic Service: Associate Editor for INFORMS Journal on Data Science; Area Chair for NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR. Mentored students including Jianhao Ma (now Tsinghua University), Geyu Liang (Amazon), and Aaresh Bhathena. Research supported by NSF, ONR, MICDE, MIDAS, START, and DEI Faculty grants.
