Jin-Yi Cai is a distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Steenbock Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he has been a faculty member since 2000. Previously, he held academic positions at State University of New York at Buffalo (Professor 1996-2000, Associate Professor 1993-1996), Princeton University (Assistant Professor 1989-1993), and Yale University (Assistant Professor 1986-1989). He has also been a Radcliffe Institute Fellow at Harvard University (2007-2008) and a Guggenheim Fellow and Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto (1999-2000). Dr. Cai earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University in 1986, an M.A. in Mathematics from Temple University in 1983, and a Certificate in Mathematics from Fudan University in 1981. His academic journey spans prestigious institutions across the United States and demonstrates a consistent trajectory of scholarly excellence. Professor Cai's research focuses on theoretical computer science, particularly computational complexity theory, with significant contributions to holographic algorithms, counting constraint satisfaction problems, and graph homomorphisms. His work bridges computer science and mathematics, developing sophisticated algorithms and proving fundamental complexity results. His research has evolved from foundational work in structural complexity and oracle separations to specialized work in holographic algorithms and counting problems, demonstrating both depth and breadth in theoretical computer science. His publication record shows a consistent output of high-impact research, with major contributions spanning over three decades. His work on holographic algorithms represents a particularly innovative strand of research that has opened new avenues in computational complexity. The progression of his research demonstrates increasing specialization in counting problems while maintaining connections to broader theoretical frameworks in computer science and mathematics. 2022 Simons Fellowship 2022 CCF Award for Overseas Outstanding Contribution 2022 Fellow, American Mathematical Society (AMS) 2021 Fulkerson Prize in Discrete Mathematics 2021 Gödel Prize in Theoretical Computer Science 2014 Steenbock Professorship, UW Madison 2001 ACM Fellow 1998 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship 1994 Sloan Fellowship Professor Cai has served as Editor of the Journal of Computer and System Sciences and Associate Editor of the Journal of Computational Complexity. His work has been recognized with numerous prestigious fellowships including the Guggenheim Fellowship, Sloan Fellowship, and Humboldt Research Award. His research has had significant impact in theoretical computer science, earning him the Gödel Prize and Fulkerson Prize, two of the most prestigious awards in theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics respectively.









