Amitabh Basu (Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, USA) obtained a Ph.D. in Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization from Carnegie- Mellon University in 2010. He joined the Mathematics Department at the University of California at Davis in 2010. He then moved to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Johns Hopkins University in 2013, where he is now a full professor. Dr. Basu won the NSF CAREER award in 2015.
The core focus of Amitabh Basu's scientific work is in optimization. He has worked in most subfields of optimization, with a strong emphasis on integer programming. He made considerable theoretical and computational advances both in optimization and in other fields (mainly, but not limited to, machine learning and astronomy), working both in foundations as well as solution methodologies. His recent work on the complexity of optimizing over the integers is a remarkable theoretical bridge between integer and continuous optimization.
The awarding committee appreciated the great diversity of optimization subjects studied in Amitabh Basu's works, the clarity of exposition of his scientific prose, the range of diverse fields in which he applies optimization methodologies, and the depth and originality of his proof techniques.
Prize committee
Santanu Dey (chair), Regina Burachik, Leo Liberti, Mauricio Resende