shivamgarg@stanford.edu

I am a PhD student at Stanford, advised by Greg Valiant . I am a part of the Machine Learning Group and the Theory Group at Stanford.

I want to understand the foundations of intelligence, both artificial and natural. I am broadly interested in (i) understanding and improving the algorithmic and reasoning capabilities of modern machine learning systems such as large language models, (ii) studying fundamental questions arising in machine learning around how to extract information from data efficiently and robustly, and (iii) investigating, using a computational lens, how intelligence emerges in natural systems such as the brain and ant colonies. These themes span machine learning, statistics, algorithms, and biology. My work is supported by the Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship.

I cofounded and currently help organize Algorithms and Friends, an initiative to increase interaction between the Theory Group and other Stanford researchers. As part of this initiative, we offer help in solving algorithmic questions that come up in applied research. We also organise a seminar where researchers from diverse backgrounds share their work. If you would like to give a talk, please contact me!

Prior to Stanford, I spent a wonderful year at Microsoft Research India working with Deeparnab Chakrabarty and Ravishankar Krishnaswamy. I did my undergrad from IIT Bombay before that.