Akshaya Suresh
PhD Candidate, Operations
Yale School of Management
I am currently a fifth year PhD candidate at Yale University, where I am fortunate to be advised by Professors Ed Kaplan and Vahideh Manshadi. My research uses tools from statistical modeling and data-driven optimization for non-profit and public sector applications, including collaborations with non-profit partners like VolunteerMatch and the New Haven Lexinome Project.
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Prior to attending Yale SOM, I received a BS from Yale University, and an MA from the University of Chicago. During both my graduate and undergraduate careers I have been been involved in tutoring and mentorship, and have been a teaching assistant for a variety of business courses. In addition to my academic experience, I have professional experience in data science and public policy roles in both the private and public sectors.
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News
October 2023: ​
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Honored to be awarded First Place in the PSOR Best Video Award competition and to be awarded an Honorable Mention in the Doing Good with Good OR Best Student Paper competition at INFORMS!
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Research Interests
My main research interests lie in non-profit and public sector operations. These two sectors share the same fundamental challenge – that their capacity is outstripped by the size of the populations they aim to serve, requiring them to make difficult decisions when allocating resources. In many cases, new technologies could allow for better informed decision-making. My research has sought to develop models of best practices for these allocation processes using techniques like data-driven optimization, algorithm design, and statistical modeling.
Education
Expected 2024
Yale School of Management
PhD, Operations
2017
University of Chicago
Master of Arts, Social Science
Studied public policy, education, and sociology.
2015
Yale University
Bachelor of Science, Astrophysics
Cum Laude, with Distinction in the Major
Selected Publications
Working Papers
Optimal Timing for Screening Tests for Children with Reading Disabilities,
with E. Kaplan, E. Pinker, and J. Gruen. Draft to be posted soon.
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– Accepted to the American Psychological Association Convention (APA '23)
– Accepted to the Cornell Young Researchers Workshop 2023
Redesigning VolunteerMatch's Ranking Algorithm: Toward More Equitable Access to Volunteers,
with V. Manshadi, S. Rodilitz, and D. Saban. Major revision, Management Science. [SSRN]
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– Honorable Mention for Doing Good with Good OR Student Paper Competition 2023
– Winner of Public Sector Operations Research Best Video Award 2023 [Link to Video]
– Accepted to the 8th Marketplace Innovation Workshop (MIW '23)
Online Algorithms for Matching Platforms with Multi-Channel Traffic,
with V. Manshadi, S. Rodilitz, and D. Saban. Minor revision, Management Science. [SSRN]
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– Accepted to the 23rd ACM Conference on Economics & Computation (EC '22)
– Accepted to the 2nd ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization (EAAMO '22)
– Accepted to the 7th Marketplace Innovation Workshop (MIW '22)
– Media: [UCLA Anderson Review]