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David Yang

I am a second-year Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University. I am advised by Christian Kroer and Tianyi Lin.

I recently graduated from Swarthmore College, earning High Honors with a B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science in 2024. There, I was fortunate enough to work with Linda Chen, Ian Whitehead, Lucas Van Meter, and Cathy Hsu.

I am from the Bay Area and graduated from The College Preparatory School in 2020.

My current research interests lie in algorithmic game theory. I am also curious about algorithms with predictions.

dy2507 [at] columbia.edu GitHub / LinkedIn Mudd 345

Research

A Regularized Semi-smooth Newton Method for Bilinear Saddle Point Problems [submitted]
David Yang, Yuan Gao, Christian Kroer, Tianyi Lin

Circle Packings from Tilings of the Plane [pdf]
Philip Rehwinkel, Ian Whitehead, David Yang, Mengyuan Yang (α - β).
Journal of Geometry, 2024

Quantum Grothendieck Polynomials in Partial Flags [in preparation]
Dave Anderson, Linda Chen, Zoe Markman, David Yang (α - β)

Teaching

At Columbia University, I was/am a

Teaching Assistant for Operations Consulting (IEOR 4111), taught by Soulaymane Kachani (Fall 2025)
Teaching Assistant for Analytics in Practice (IEOR 4524), taught by Yaren Bilge Kaya and Hardeep Johar (Spring 2025)

At Swarthmore College, I was a

General Math Clinician, covering all math courses (Spring 2024)
One-on-one Math Clinician, covering all math courses (Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
first-ever Differential Equations (Math 43/44) Clinician (Spring 2023)
Multivariable Calculus (Math 33/34/35) Clinician (Fall 2022)
Algorithms (CS 41) Grader (Spring 2023)
Number Theory (Math 58) Grader (Fall 2023)
Honors Multivariable Calculus (Math 35) Grader (Spring 2021, Fall 2021)

I also worked (remotely) at the Art of Problem Solving (AoPS), where I was a

Teaching Assistant for an Introduction to Counting & Probability (June - September 2021) and AMC 12 Problem Series (September - December 2021) class, among other substitute roles (2021 - 2022)
Grader for assorted classes (2020–2022)
"Halper"/Message Board Assistant (2020–2022)

Service & Organizations

Columbia IEOR PhD Council: Vice President (2025-2026), Member (2024-2025)

Advocate for the interests of the PhD students, foster a strong and inclusive community, and organize events (tutorials, seminars, fitness challenges).

Swarthmore Interactive Math Colloquium: Co-leader (2022 - 2024)

Organized interactive math lectures and community-building events, including 5 lectures and a Swarthmore Math/Stat Jeopardy event, to bring mathematics to the greater Swarthmore community.

Swarthmore Advisory Council to the CS Department (ACCS): Class of 2024 Representative (2023 - 2024)

Served as liaison between the CS faculty and CS students. Led initiatives for improving inclusivity, diversity, and accessibility for the department. (2023-2024)

Swarthmore Computer Science Mentorship Program: Mentor (2022-2023)

Mentee Initials: JM, SA

Fellowships & Selected Awards

Lippincott Fellowship (2024)
One of two recipients in the Swarthmore College graduating class. Awarded $7,500 to support my graduate studies.
Heinrich W. Brinkmann Award (2024)
Sole recipient. Awarded to "a set of graduating seniors who have demonstrated dedication to the field and to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics."