PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

George Lan

Also known as Guanghui Lan

George Lan is an optimization researcher whose stochastic methods connect mathematical optimization with machine learning and intelligent decision-making. He studied mechanical engineering at Xiangtan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, earned an industrial engineering master's at the University of Louisville and a doctorate in operations research at Georgia Tech, and served on the faculties of the University of Florida and Georgia Tech. With Saeed Ghadimi, he introduced a randomized stochastic-gradient method for nonconvex stochastic programs in 2013 and published a 2020 book on optimization methods for machine learning. Lan received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2013 and won the 2022 INFORMS Computing Society Prize and the 2023 Lanchester Prize. As of October 2026, he is a professor at Georgia Tech, an associate director of its Center for Machine Learning, and co-area editor for Mathematics of Operations Research.

Born
1976

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1996–2009

    Engineering degrees and a doctorate

    At Xiangtan University, Lan earns a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1996; he earns an M.S. in mechanical engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1999 and an M.S. in industrial engineering at the University of Louisville in 2004. He completes a Ph.D. in operations research at Georgia Tech in 2009.

  2. 2008–2013

    Early awards and a research paper

    In 2008, he wins second place in the INFORMS George Nicholson Prize Paper Competition and first place in the INFORMS Computing Society Student Paper Award. In 2012, he wins the INFORMS JFIG Paper Competition, then receives a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2013. With Saeed Ghadimi, he publishes the 2013 paper Stochastic First- and Zeroth-order Methods for Nonconvex Stochastic Programming, which introduces the randomized stochastic gradient method for nonconvex stochastic programs.

  3. 2009–2016

    From Florida to Georgia Tech

    At the University of Florida, he serves on the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering faculty from 2009 to 2015 before joining Georgia Tech's H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2016. His work applies stochastic optimization and nonlinear programming to machine learning and intelligence.

  4. 2020

    A book on machine learning

    In 2020, he publishes First-order and Stochastic Optimization Methods for Machine Learning, a book on first-order and stochastic approaches to machine-learning problems.

  5. 2021

    Professor at Georgia Tech

    Georgia Tech promotes him to professor in its H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, effective August 15, 2021. He serves as associate director for machine learning and data science at Georgia Tech's Center for Machine Learning.

  6. 2022–2023

    Two INFORMS prizes

    He wins the INFORMS Computing Society Prize in 2022 and the INFORMS Frederick W. Lanchester Prize in 2023.

  7. April 2024

    Leading AI4OPT's uncertainty thrust

    In April 2024, Lan leads AI4OPT's methodology thrust on Decision Making under Uncertainty. His research there develops efficient optimization algorithms for data analytics, machine learning, and reinforcement learning.

  8. As of October 2026

    Chair and co-area editor

    As of October 2026, he is the A. Russell Chandler III Chair and professor in Georgia Tech's H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and an associate director of its Center for Machine Learning. His research focuses on first-order and stochastic optimization methods for machine learning and intelligent decision-making. In 2026, he serves as co-area editor for Mathematics of Operations Research.

Career

  1. Since 2016Georgia Institute of TechnologyProfessor
  2. 2009–2015University of Florida

Education

  1. 2009Georgia Institute of TechnologyPh.D.
  2. 2004University of LouisvilleM.S.
  3. 1999Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityM.S.
  4. 1996Xiangtan UniversityB.S.

From the biography.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Georgia Institute of Technology. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Georgia Institute of Technology. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes Georgia Institute of Technology. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.
  4. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes Georgia Institute of Technology. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Guanghui Lan | H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering isye.gatech.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Stochastic First- and Zeroth-order Methods for Nonconvex Stochastic Programming arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. George Lan | ML (Machine Learning) at Georgia Tech ml.gatech.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. George Lan Promoted to Professor | H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering isye.gatech.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Member Spotlights | Artificial Intelligence Institute for Advances in Optimization ai4opt.org. Checked 21 October 2026.