UC Berkeley Ph.D. Student Yuchen Fang Receives 2026 Simons Dissertation Fellowship
Yuchen Fang, a UC Berkeley doctoral student co-advised by UC Berkeley IEOR Professor Javad Lavaei, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Simons Dissertation Fellowship in Mathematics.
Fang is pursuing his Ph.D. in applied mathematics at UC Berkeley and is co-advised by Lavaei and Professor James Demmel. His research focuses on stochastic nonlinear optimization and numerical linear algebra. He is among the members of the second class of fellows selected for the award.
The Simons Dissertation Fellowship in Mathematics was established by the Simons Foundation in 2024 to honor the legacy of the foundation’s late co-founder, Jim Simons, and his commitment to supporting exceptional students in mathematics. The fellowship provides research support to graduate students in the final years of their doctoral studies.
Fang’s research reflects connections among mathematics, optimization and computation. His recent work includes research on stochastic optimization methods and the analysis of nonlinear systems, with publications and projects involving collaborators across UC Berkeley and other institutions.
Before coming to Berkeley in 2023, Fang earned a master’s degree in computational and applied mathematics from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in statistics from Xiamen University.
Fang’s recognition highlights the interdisciplinary connections between UC Berkeley IEOR and the Department of Mathematics and the role of optimization research at the intersection of mathematical theory and computation.