David Yang

I am a Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University.

I recently graduated from Swarthmore College, earning High Honors with a B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science in 2024. There, I was fortunate enough to work with Linda Chen, Ian Whitehead, Lucas Van Meter, and Cathy Hsu.

I am from the Bay Area and graduated from the College Preparatory School in 2020.

I am currently interested in algorithmic game theory.

My email is dy2507-at-columbia-dot-edu.

Research

Circle Packings from Tilings of the Plane [pdf]
Philip Rehwinkel, Ian Whitehead, David Yang, Mengyuan Yang (α - β).
Journal of Geometry, 2024

Quantum Grothendieck Polynomials in Partial Flags [in progress]
Dave Anderson, Linda Chen, Zoe Markman, David Yang (α - β).

Teaching

At Columbia University, I was a

• Teaching Assistant for Analytics in Practice (IEOR 4524) taught by Yaren Bilge Kaya and Hardeep Johar (Spring 2025)

At Swarthmore College, I was a

• General Math Clinician, covering all math courses (Spring 2024)
• One-on-one Math Clinician, covering all math courses (Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
• first-ever Differential Equations (Math 43/44) Clinician (Spring 2023)
• Multivariable Calculus (Math 33/34/35) Clinician (Fall 2022)
• Algorithms (CS 41) Grader (Spring 2023)
• Number Theory (Math 58) Grader (Fall 2023)
• Honors Multivariable Calculus (Math 35) Grader (Spring 2021, Fall 2021)

I also worked (remotely) at the Art of Problem Solving (AoPS), where I was a

• Teaching Assistant for an Introduction to Counting & Probability (June - September 2021) and AMC 12 Problem Series (September - December 2021) class, among other substitute roles (2021 - 2022)
• Grader for assorted classes (2020 - 2022)
• "Halper"/Message Board Assistant (2020 - 2022)

Fellowships & Selected Awards

• Lippincott Fellowship (2024)
One of two recipients in graduating class. Awarded $7500 to support my graduate studies.
• Heinrich W. Brinkmann Award (2024)
Sole recipient. Awarded to "a set of graduating seniors who have demonstrated dedication to the field and to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics."

Service & Organizations

• Columbia IEOR PhD Council: Vice President (2025-2026), Member (2024-2025)
Advocate for the interests of the PhD students, foster a strong and inclusive community, and organize events (seminars, fitness challenges).
• Swarthmore Interactive Math Colloquium: Co-leader (2022 - 2024)
Organize interactive math lectures and community-building events, including 5 lectures and a Swarthmore Math/Stat Jeopardy event, to bring mathematics to the greater Swarthmore community.
• Swarthmore Advisory Council to the CS Department (ACCS): Class of 2024 Representative (2023 - 2024)
Served as liason between the CS faculty and CS students. Led initiatives for improving inclusivity, diversity, and accessibility for the department. (2023-2024)
• Swarthmore Computer Science Mentorship Program: Mentor (2022-2023)