Dr. Sharan Vaswani

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Sharan Vaswani is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University (SFU). His current research interests focus on designing algorithms for sequential decision-making under uncertainty, with an emphasis on stochastic optimization and its interplay with generalization in modern machine learning. Before joining SFU, he completed two postdoctoral positions, one at the University of Alberta under Csaba Szepesvari, where he researched reinforcement learning with constraints and multiple objectives, and another at Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute with Simon Lacoste-Julien, where he worked on stochastic optimization in over-parameterized models. Vaswani earned his PhD in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia (UBC), where his research on structured bandits applications addressed decision-making uncertainty in social networks and recommender systems. He also holds an MSc from UBC and a Bachelor's degree from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, India. His academic background includes supervision from notable figures such as Laks Lakshmanan and Mark Schmidt, and his early career involved research engineering at Siemens Corporate Research in Bangalore.

Research Interests

Experience

Postdoc

— Present

University of Alberta • Canada

Worked on reinforcement learning with constraints and multiple objectives.

Postdoc

— Present

Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute • Canada

Researched stochastic optimization over-parameterized models.

PhD Student

— Present

University of British Columbia • Canada

Conducted research on structured bandits applications related to decision-making uncertainty in social networks.

Research Engineer

— Present

Siemens Corporate Research • Bangalore, India

Contributed to parallel systems research.

Requirements for Simon Fraser University

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Total
Required:93
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in Philosophy or related field
Application Checklist
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Specialization Notes

Department of Philosophy