PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Negar Kiyavash

Negar Kiyavash is a full professor at EPFL, and her causal inference work applies to machine learning and artificial intelligence. She earned a B.S. from Sharif University of Technology in 1999, followed by M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2003 and 2006. She won an Air Force Young Investigator award in 2010 and an NSF CAREER award in 2011, and a Humboldt Fellowship followed in 2017. She joined Georgia Tech as an associate professor in 2018 and moved to EPFL in 2019. In 2026 the European Research Council gave her an Advanced Grant for CIEL, a project on causal inference for exploration and learning.

Now at
EPFL
Works
268
Citations
3,174
h-index
26

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1999–2006

    Degrees from Sharif and Illinois

    She earns a B.S. in electrical engineering at Sharif University of Technology in 1999. Graduate work follows at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering in 2003 and 2006.

  2. 2010

    An Air Force young investigator award

    Her proposal is one of 43 winners of the Air Force's Young Investigator Research Program in 2010, while she is an assistant professor in industrial and enterprise systems engineering at Illinois.

  3. 2011

    An NSF CAREER award

    She receives an NSF Career Award in 2011.

  4. 2017

    A Humboldt Fellowship

    The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants her a Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers in 2017.

  5. 2018–2019

    Moves to Georgia Tech and EPFL

    Georgia Tech welcomes her in 2018 as an associate professor with a joint appointment in ISyE and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 2019 she joins EPFL, where she takes on a number of positions of responsibility.

  6. 2022

    Outstanding Paper Runner Up at ICML

    At ICML 2022, her paper with Sina Akbari and Jalal Etesami, Minimum Cost Intervention Design for Causal Effect Identification, receives an Outstanding Paper Runner Up award.

  7. 2026

    An ERC Advanced Grant

    The European Research Council awards her an Advanced Grant for CIEL, Causal Inference for Exploration and Learning, in 2026.

  8. As of October 2026

    A full professor at EPFL

    As a full professor at EPFL, her causal inference work applies to machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Sources and credits

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  1. ISyE Welcomes Associate Professor Negar Kiyavash | H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering isye.gatech.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Kiyavash earns AFOSR Young Investigator Award | The Grainger College of Engineering | Illinois grainger.illinois.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Negar Kiyavash receives prestigious Humboldt Fellowship | Coordinated Science Laboratory | Illinois csl.illinois.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. Appointment of EPFL professors - EPFL actu.epfl.ch. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. ICML 2022 Awards icml.cc. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Nine ERC Advanced Grants awarded to EPFL researchers - EPFL AI Center ai.epfl.ch. Checked 15 October 2026.