Ravi Kannan

Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research India

Ravi Kannan is a principal researcher at Microsoft Research India, where he leads the algorithms research group. He also holds an adjunct faculty position in the computer science and automation department at the Indian Institute of Science. Before joining Microsoft, Kannan was the William K. Lanman, Jr. Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at Yale University. He has also taught at MIT and CMU. 

Kannan's research interests include algorithms, theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, as well as optimization. His work has mainly focused on efficient algorithms for problems of a mathematical (often geometric) flavor that arise in computer science. He has worked on algorithms for integer programming and the geometry of numbers, random walks in n-space, randomized algorithms for linear algebra, and learning algorithms for convex sets.

He was awarded the Knuth Prize in 2011 for developing influential algorithmic techniques aimed at solving long-standing computational problems, the Fulkerson Prize in 1991 for his work on estimating the volume of convex sets, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1999.

Program Visits

Geometry of Polynomials, Spring 2019, Visiting Scientist
Foundations of Data Science, Fall 2018, Visiting Scientist and Program Organizer
Real-Time Decision Making, Spring 2018, Visiting Scientist
Bridging Continuous and Discrete Optimization, Fall 2017, Visiting Scientist
Foundations of Machine Learning, Spring 2017, Visiting Scientist
Algorithms and Uncertainty, Fall 2016, Visiting Scientist
Counting Complexity and Phase Transitions, Spring 2016, Visiting Scientist
Economics and Computation, Fall 2015, Visiting Scientist
Cryptography, Summer 2015, Visiting Scientist
Information Theory, Spring 2015, Visiting Scientist
Algorithmic Spectral Graph Theory, Fall 2014, Visiting Scientist and Program Organizer
Theoretical Foundations of Big Data Analysis, Fall 2013, Visiting Scientist and Program Organizer