Luofeng Liao
Ph.D. in Operations Research
Hi! My name is Luofeng Liao (廖烙锋 in Chinese). I am currently a Research Scientist in Meta working on ranking/recommendation algorithms. I completed my PhD in Operations Research at Columbia University, which I attended from 2021/09 to 2025/03. A bit on pronouncing my name: “Luo” (adding a ‘w’ sound in “law”), “Feng” (like “fung” in fung shui), “Liao” (rhymes with “meow”).
My research interests are machine learning methods for causal inference and econometrics, learning and inference in market design, and adversarial optimization.
Previously, I worked with my advisor Prof. Christian Kroer on statistical inference theory for equilibrium in auction markets, a theory that is useful for internet advertising business. Prior to Columbia, I received my bachelor’s degree in computer science in Fudan University in China and a master’s degree in statistics in University of Chicago. In UChicago, I used to work with Prof. Mladen Kolar and Prof. Zhaoran Wang. In Fudan I was advised by Prof. Ke Wei.
Papers
- NeurIPS2025The Bias-Variance Tradeoff in Data-Driven Optimization: A Local Misspecification Perspective2025
- Under Review, Management Science
- Accepted, Management Science
- ICLR2025