Dr. Robert Brunner

Biography

Robert J. Brunner is a professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Illinois, with additional affiliations in the School of Information Sciences and the Department of Accountancy in the College of Business. His primary research interests include statistical machine learning applied to various real-world problems, focusing on algorithm design that incorporates uncertainty and optimization through advanced computational technologies. Brunner's work promotes data science on campus, enhancing effective data management, analysis, and visualization techniques. He earned his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Johns Hopkins University, where his research helped develop a statistical approach to quantify galaxy evolution, contributing to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. He also completed a five-year postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology, focused on the Digital Sky project.

Research Interests