Associate Professor,
Class of 1947 Career Development Professor,
Operations Research & Statistics,
Sloan School of Management, MIT.
Research Areas: Optimization, Algorithmic Fairness, ML/AI
I’m available at swatig at mit.edu,
Office: E62-582 (or a coffee shop near MIT)
Support Staff: Natalie Jean (njean91 at mit.edu)
News! I’m looking for enthusiastic MIT students (at all levels) with an interest in optimization, ML/AI, and algorithmic fairness to join my research group. I also have a postdoc position starting September 2026-2027.
I am an Associate Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management in OR & Statistics and a Class of 1947 Career Development Professor. I am a core faculty member of the Operations Research Center, and affiliated with LIDS and CCSE. I received a Ph.D. in Operations Research from MIT and was fortunate to be advised by Michel Goemans and Patrick Jaillet. I hold a joint Masters and B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Delhi. My Erdös number is 2.
My research philosophy centers on addressing problems that not only push the boundaries of fundamental understanding in optimization and machine learning but also generate a tangible, positive impact on society. I focus on deep theoretical questions—many of which are grounded in real-world challenges—striving to bridge the gap between rigorous theory and meaningful practice. Broadly, my research focuses on optimization, machine learning, and algorithmic fairness. Drawing from key challenges in various applications, my work focuses on (i) algorithms for incomplete and erroneous data, (ii) multi-criteria optimization and learning, and (iii) bridging discrete, continuous, and quantum optimization. You can further explore my research projects and publications here, where you will find a broad portfolio ranging from mathematical and algorithmic contributions, to impact on applications in hiring, admissions, healthcare, power systems, while navigating connections in law and economics. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with many fantastic students, check out my Research Group. If you are curious about my advising style and perspective on what it takes to have a successful PhD, here is my Unwritten Curriculum and mentoring plan. My research group has been supported by industry funding, as well as federal agencies like NSF and DARPA, and from cross-institute interdisciplinary centers such as SERC. To bring my work to the real-world, I frequently interact and collaborate with industry, as well as with doctors, physicists, law and policy scholars.
I received the prestigious NSF CAREER Award in 2023, the JP Morgan Early Career Faculty Recognition in 2021, the NSF CISE Research Initiation Initiative Award in 2019, Simons Berkeley Research Fellowship 2017-2018, and the Google Women in Engineering Award (India) in 2011. I also led the technical thrust of Ethical AI in the multi-institution NSF AI Institute on Advances in Optimization (ai4opt.org), from 2021-2023. I have been fortunate to work with a fantastic group of students. My group has received recognition at various venues like NeurIPS spotlight, INFORMS Doing Good with OR 2022, INFORMS Undergraduate Operations Research 2018, INFORMS Computing Society 2016, and INFORMS Service Science Student Paper 2016.
I am an associate editor for Open Journal of Mathematical Optimization, co-editor for OPTIMA (newsletter of the Mathematical Optimization Society). I am (or have served) on the PC for IPCO 2026, IPCO 2024, NeurIPS 2023 (area chair), ACDA 2023, EAAMO 2022, FAccT 2022 (area chair), WINE 2021 and FORC 2021 (publications chair), and award committees for INFORMS competitions. I have also guest-edited a special issue on Data Science and Optimization for the Fields Communication Series.
For more information about latest activity in my research group, check out News!
For more information about courses I have taught and my teaching philosophy, check out Teaching.
For media inquiries, reach out to Natalie Jean (njean91 at mit.edu).
For my artistic pursuits and exhibits, check out Creative.
Check out my husband’s — Tushar Krishna’s — work in computer architecture here and stay tuned for his upcoming startup!
