Portrait of Yuri

Yuri Faenza

Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

Yuri Faenza works on the theory and applications of Optimization.

He is primarily interested in the interplay of mathematical programming and computer science, in order to construct and solve mathematical models that support decision making.

In particular, Faenza’s research focuses on Discrete Optimization, including Integer Programming and extensions (for instance, knapsack problems), Combinatorial Optimization (for instance, matching problems), and Polyhedral Combinatorics (for instance, extended formulations), and their applications to real-world problems. He has also worked at the intersection of Discrete Optimization and Machine Learning, and on the high-school matching market.

Faenza received a BSc in Management Science and Engineering, summa cum laude, in 2004 and an MSc in Mathematical Engineering, summa cum laude, in 2006 from the Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Italy. He received a PhD in Operations Research from the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, in 2010. He was a Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Fellow at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, 2015–2016, and has been a postdoctoral researcher at at EPFL, Switzerland, 2012–2014; and at the University of Padua, Italy, 2010–2012.

Research Areas

  • Economics & Computation
  • Optimization
  • Resource Allocation
  • Algorithmic Fairness
  • Matching Platforms

Additional Information

  • Professional Experience
    • Since 2016: Faculty member (since 2022, Associate Professor; 2016-2021, Assistant Professor) in the Industrial Engineering and Operations Research 
    • Member (since 2024, full member; 2019-2023, affiliated member) of the Data Science Institute, Columbia University 2015 – 2016
    • SNSF Ambizione Fellow, DISOPT group, EPFL, Switzerland
  • Professional Affiliations
    • INFORMS 
    • DIMACS
    • MOS
  • Honors & Awards
    • Meta Research Award, 2022
    • CAREER Award, NSF, 2021
    • Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering, Columbia University, 2018
    • Lorenzo Brunetta award for a PhD thesis in Operations Research, 2012 
  • Education
    • PhD, Operations Research, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)
    • MSc, Mathematical Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy)
    • BSc, Management Science and Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy)