Meet a professor - Negar Kiyavash

Can you describe yourself in a few words?

I am a new faculty member at CDM where I hold the chair of data analytics. I have an 8-year-old son, who keeps me busy even when there are no work deadlines. I was born in Tehran, Iran, and after finishing my undergraduate studies in Iran, I went to the US for graduate school where I lived until August 2019. I was a faculty member at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and at Georgia Institute of Technology.

You’ve just arrived at EPFL (in 2019), what was your vision of the institution when you applied for the position?

I knew many of the EPFL faculty and alumni in areas related to my research interests before joining EPFL and have been collaborating with some of them closely in recent years. So I have always had a very high opinion of EPFL and my opinion has not changed since I joined EPFL. I am very impressed with the quality of my colleagues, the students, and the staff at EPFL.

You define yourself as a data scientist. What does that mean?

My research focuses on data analysis, data security, discrete optimization and causal inference. I have received particular acclaim for introducing the principle of directed information graphs (DIGs), which characterize the concept of causality in time series. My research is at the interface of social science, business management and data science and I hope to make a significant contribution to EPFL’s research and teaching, particularly in the field of business analytics – both on the theoretical research as on the applications designed to enhance data-driven business decision-taking.

You have started teaching in 2020. How do you convey your knowledge to the students?

In normal times (before the COVID-19 pandemic), I really enjoyed teaching my students in person. I try to make the class interactive and let the students feel comfortable with asking questions and participating freely. Since the pandemic, like everyone else, I had to change my teaching style. I had the option of either teaching the class via Zoom or do a prerecording. I decided to go for the latter option. I prerecord the lesson and then send it to the students a few days before the class which is scheduled on Tuesday mornings. Then I use the class time to discuss the material and explain any parts that the students could not follow in the recorded lecture. This is a teaching methodology called “inverting the classroom.” It allows the students to participate more actively in the lectures despite the fact that we are not meeting in person. It is the first time I am doing this so I hope it is a success and that my students will still enjoy the course material.

Your lab is currently being built up. What kind of atmosphere do you wish to maintain within your future team of researchers?

I have started recruiting students and postdocs. Unfortunately, the pandemic has interrupted my recruiting effort, but I hope we will go back to normal soon. In terms of running the lab, although I am new at EPFL, I have had a lab for over a decade in the US. I work very closely with my doctoral students and postdocs.

We often have both group and individual meetings among the members of the lab. Although the nature of my group’s research is theoretical, we verify our methodology on datasets. Hence, there is often an extensive implementation/data analysis step that is required for every project. This requires collaborations both within our lab as well as with other colleagues. As such, I like to have an open and collaborative atmosphere in my lab. I also like to give the freedom to my doctoral students to work on problems they are passionate about. Of course the problems have to be in the general area of my expertise, so that I can advise them effectively.

Outside of research, do you have another passion/interest ?

I love reading, especially works of fiction. I love Russian and French literature, but I also like crime novels. I enjoy playing board games with my son. I like cooking and hosting dinners for small groups of friends. I especially like having my students over for dinner often. I am working on becoming more passionate about skiing.