Event Category: Operations Research Seminar Series
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Active Exploration via Autoregressive Generation of Missing Data
2/13/25 | 4:15pm | E51-376 Daniel Russo Philip H. Geier Jr. Associate ProfessorColumbia Business School Abstract: We cast the challenges of uncertainty quantification and exploration in online decision-making as a problem of training and generation from an autoregressive sequence model, an area experiencing rapid innovation. Central to our approach is viewing uncertainty as arising from…
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Mistake, Manipulation, and Margin Guarantees in Online Strategic Classification
2/20/25 | 4:15pm | E51-376 Fatma Kilinc-Karzan Professor of Operations ResearchTepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University Abstract: We consider an online strategic classification problem where each arriving agent can manipulate their true feature vector to obtain a positive predicted label while incurring a cost that depends on the amount of manipulation. The learner seeks…
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Entry-Specific Matrix Estimation under Arbitrary Sampling Patterns through the Lens of Network Flows
2/27/25 | 4:15pm | E51-376 Christina Yu Assistant ProfessorCornell University, Operations Research and Information Engineering Abstract: Matrix completion is a powerful tool for predicting missing values in data, with applications in econometrics, recommendation systems, healthcare, and social sciences. Traditional methods often assume that missing data follows specific patterns, but real-world data could lack the assumed…
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Trustworthy Optimization Learning
3/6/25 | 4:15pm | E62-276 Pascal Van Hentenryck A. Russell Chandler III Chair and ProfessorGeorgia Institute of Technology Joint talk with LIDS. Abstract: This talk considers the concept of trustworthy optimization learning, a methodology to design optimization proxies that learn the input/output mapping of parametric optimization problems. These optimization proxies are trustworthy by design: they…
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Managing Sustainable Food Systems
3/13/25 | 4:15pm | E62-276 Dan Andrei Iancu Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Technology at the Graduate School of BusinessFaculty Affiliate in the Woods InstituteStanford University Abstract: We discuss a set of problems arising in the management of global food systems where technology and data analytics combined with operational innovations and incentives can lead…
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Integer Programming Methods to Learn Causal Structures
3/20/25 | 4:15pm | E51-376 Sanjeeb Dash ResearcherIBM Research Abstract: The problem of finding score-maximizing Bayesian Networks, where the score represents quality of fit to input data, can be modeled as an integer program, and some of the state-of-the-art algorithms for this problem solve such integer programs. We discuss recent work on integer programming models…
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Learning-Guided Optimization for Mobility
4/10/25 | 4:15pm | E51-376 Cathy Wu Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Career Development Associate ProfessorMIT Abstract: The increasing complexity of modern mobility systems is challenging traditional engineering practices. A fundamental challenge is that different engineering requirements lead to distinct optimization and control problems, each necessitating specialized techniques that can take years to develop.…
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Demand Management for Public Sector Operations: Application to Food Subsidies
4/17/25 | 4:15pm | E51-376 Ali Aouad Assistant Professor of Operations ManagementMIT Abstract: The design of a subsidy poses a classic demand‑management problem: choosing an offer set (bundle, assortment, voucher) that respects individual preferences while aiming to satisfy welfare goals. In the food security context, in-kind subsidies are major safety nets in the Global South…
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Does AI Help Humans Make Better Decisions? A Statistical Evaluation Framework for Experimental and Observational Studies.
4/24/25 | 4:15pm | E62-276 Kosuke Imai Professor of Government and of StatisticsHarvard University Abstract: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), or more generally data-driven algorithms, has become ubiquitous in today’s society. Yet, in many cases and especially when stakes are high, humans still make final decisions. The critical question, therefore, is whether AI helps…
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The Economics of Automated Market Making and Decentralized Exchanges
5/8/25 | 4:15pm | E51-325 Ciamac Moallemi William von Mueffling Professor of BusinessColumbia Business School Abstract: Automated market making (AMM) protocols such as Uniswap have recently emerged as an alternative to the most common market structure for electronic trading, the limit order book. Relative to limit order books, AMMs are both more computationally efficient and…