Dr. Yao Xie

Professor

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Biography

Yao Xie is the Coca-Cola Foundation Chair Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and serves as the Associate Director of the Machine Learning Center (ML@GT). He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics from Stanford University and has previously worked as a Research Scientist at Duke University. His research focuses on developing theory-grounded, computationally efficient methods for sequential inference and decision-making in high-dimensional spatio-temporal settings, with an emphasis on change-point detection and uncertainty quantification. Yao's work integrates generative modeling within modern AI frameworks, aimed at enabling robust inference and prediction in complex systems. He has received notable accolades, including the C.W.S. Woodroofe Award in 2024 and the INFORMS Gaver Early Career Award in 2022. Yao is a distinguished lecturer for the IEEE Information Theory Society for 2026–2027 and serves as an Associate Editor for various prestigious journals. His teaching philosophy emphasizes making rigorous statistical and machine learning concepts accessible and engaging, having taught courses ranging from Basic Statistics to Computational Data Analysis and Machine Learning.

Research Interests

Experience

Coca-Cola Foundation Chair Professor

2012-01-01 — Present

Georgia Institute of Technology • Atlanta, GA

Chair Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Associate Director of the Machine Learning Center.

Research Scientist

2012-01-01 — Present

Duke University • Durham, NC

Conducted research in statistical methods and decision-making under uncertainty.

Awards

#2024

C.W.S. Woodroofe Award

2024-01-01
#2022

INFORMS Gaver Early Career Award

2022-01-01
#

IEEE Information Theory Society Distinguished Lecturer

2026-01-01

Requirements for Georgia Institute of Technology

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:19
Reading
Required:19
Writing
Required:19
Speaking
Required:19
Total
Required:100
IELTS
Listening
Required:6.5
Reading
Required:6.5
Writing
Required:5.5
Speaking
Required:6.5
Overall
Required:7.5
Prerequisites
Undergraduate degree in computer science or related field
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Official transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Statement of Purpose
Specialization Notes

Department of Computer Science: GRE scores are optional for Fall 2026.