Josh Alman Wins Packard Research Fellowship

Josh Alman, a theoretical computer scientist at the forefront of developing faster algorithms, has been awarded a 2024 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering. He is among 20 early-career researchers selected for this year’s fellowship.

Alman specializes in algebraic algorithms and focuses on creating innovative solutions that can significantly improve the efficiency of various computational processes. His research is pushing the boundaries in fields ranging from signal processing to artificial intelligence. For example, matrix and vector operations lie at the heart of large language models like ChatGPT, and Alman’s algorithms can be used to speed them up.

“An algorithm is a set of instructions for solving a problem, much like a recipe for cooking a dish,” said Alman, assistant professor of computer science at Columbia Engineering. He designed the fastest known algorithms for matrix multiplication and the fastest known algorithm for many linear transforms, including improving the Fast Fourier transform. “My work revolves around making these instructions faster and more effective, using mathematical tools from algebra like matrices and polynomials.”

Alman, who has also recently received an NSF CAREER Award and a Google Research Scholar Award, earned his doctoral degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and holds a master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University and a BS degree in mathematics from MIT. Prior to joining Columbia in 2021, he was a Michael O. Rabin Postdoctoral Fellow in Theoretical Computer Science at Harvard University.

With the support of the Packard Research Fellowship—totaling $875,000 over five years—Alman plans to expand his research, particularly by collaborating with experts from diverse fields to explore innovative uses for these algebraic tools. His goal is to leverage these resources to not only advance his own work but also to support students and other researchers in unlocking new potential in the field of theoretical computer science.

Alman joins fellow computer science faculty members, Shree Nayar and Kenneth Ross, who are also recipients of the Packard fellowship. The 2024 Packard Fellows, supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation's Fellowships for Science and Engineering program, include faculty members from universities across the United States. These fellows are tackling some of the most critical research questions in science and engineering, with topics ranging from artificial intelligence and computational theory to environmental science and medical breakthroughs.