Debarghya Ghoshdastidar
Associate Professor, Technical University of Munich
Postdoc, Theory of Machine Learning (Ulrike von Luxburg), Tübingen AI Center
What is your connection to Tübingen, Debarghya?
I was a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Ulrike von Luxburg from 2016 to 2019. I was also part of the Baden-Württemberg Eliteprogramm for postdocs, which helped me to start my research group. At that time, my research focused on statistical hypothesis testing for network data as well as the mathematical foundations of unsupervised learning and ordinal data analysis.
Is there a memory from your time here that had a lasting positive impact on you?
There are two influential memories. Firstly, Prof. von Luxburg introduced me to collaborative research and identified my ability to discuss any topic at varying levels of technicality and expertise; since then, I have often relied on this skill for research, teaching, and supervision. Secondly, I have fond memories of the weekly lunch seminar attended by members of 3 or 4 theory research groups; it was a special event, and I realize now how difficult it is to organize something similar at other universities.
Prof. von Luxburg introduced me to collaborative research and identified my ability to discuss any topic at varying levels of technicality and expertise; since then, I have often relied on this skill for research, teaching, and supervision.
Debarghya Ghoshdastidar
Where has your career taken you since, and did your time in Tübingen play a role? If so, how?
I am currently a W3 professor at the Technical University of Munich. I would not be in my current position if my path had not passed through Uni Tübingen. From a scientific perspective, my time at Tübingen shaped my research toward statistics. It gave me the confidence to build a career strongly rooted in both mathematical statistics and theoretical machine learning, rather than choosing only one field.