Jennifer Tour Chayes
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Tour Chayes is Managing Director and Distinguished Scientist of Microsoft Research New England Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which she co-founded in July 2008. She received her Ph.D. in mathematical physics at Princeton University
. She is Affiliate Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Washington
, and was for many years Professor of Mathematics at UCLA.
and Physics
from Wesleyan University
in 1979 where she graduated first in her class. She received her Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics at Princeton
. She did her postdoctoral work in the Mathematics and Physics departments at Harvard and Cornell. She moved to UCLA as faculty and was tenured there in 1987.
Chayes was married to Christian Borgs in 1993. Chayes and Borgs started the Theory Group at Microsoft Research Redmond in 1997. The Theory Group analyzes fundamental questions in theoretical computer science using techniques from statistical physics and discrete mathematics. Chayes is best known for her work on phase transitions. Her research areas include phase transitions in discrete mathematics and computer science, structural and dynamical properties of self-engineered networks, and algorithmic game theory. She is considered one of the world's experts in the modeling and analysis of dynamically growing graphs. Applications include the Internet, the Web, biological networks, and social networks. She has contributed the development of methods to analyze the structure and behavior of various networks, the design of auction algorithms, and the design and analysis of various business models for the online world.
Chayes serves on a number of boards, advisory committees and editorial boards, including the Turing Award Selection Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery
, the Board of Trustees of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
, the Advisory Boards of the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Computer Science and the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, the U.S. National Committee for Mathematics and the Committee on Assuring the Integrity of Research Data of the National Academies, the Advisory Committee on Women in Computing
of the Association for Computing Machinery
, the Leadership Advisory Council of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
, and the Selection Committee for the Anita Borg Award for Technical Leadership. Chayes is a past Chair of the Mathematics Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and a past Vice-President of the American Mathematical Society. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation
Postdoctoral Fellowship, a Sloan Fellowship
, and the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award. She is the co-author of almost 100 scientific papers and the co-inventor of more than 20 patents
.
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. She is Affiliate Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, and was for many years Professor of Mathematics at UCLA.
Early life and work
Chayes grew up in White Plains, N.Y., the child of Iranian immigrants. She received her B.A. in BiologyBiology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in 1979 where she graduated first in her class. She received her Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics at Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. She did her postdoctoral work in the Mathematics and Physics departments at Harvard and Cornell. She moved to UCLA as faculty and was tenured there in 1987.
Chayes was married to Christian Borgs in 1993. Chayes and Borgs started the Theory Group at Microsoft Research Redmond in 1997. The Theory Group analyzes fundamental questions in theoretical computer science using techniques from statistical physics and discrete mathematics. Chayes is best known for her work on phase transitions. Her research areas include phase transitions in discrete mathematics and computer science, structural and dynamical properties of self-engineered networks, and algorithmic game theory. She is considered one of the world's experts in the modeling and analysis of dynamically growing graphs. Applications include the Internet, the Web, biological networks, and social networks. She has contributed the development of methods to analyze the structure and behavior of various networks, the design of auction algorithms, and the design and analysis of various business models for the online world.
Recent work and recognition
Chayes and Borgs opened Microsoft Research New England in July 2008. The lab is located at the Microsoft New England Research & Development Center and is pursuing new, interdisciplinary areas of research that bring together core computer scientists and social scientists to understand, model, and enable future computing and online experiences.Chayes serves on a number of boards, advisory committees and editorial boards, including the Turing Award Selection Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
, the Board of Trustees of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute , founded in 1982, is an independent nonprofit mathematical research institution whose funding sources include the National Science Foundation, foundations, corporations, and more than 90 universities and institutions...
, the Advisory Boards of the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Computer Science and the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, the U.S. National Committee for Mathematics and the Committee on Assuring the Integrity of Research Data of the National Academies, the Advisory Committee on Women in Computing
Women in computing
Global concerns about current and future roles of women in computing occupations gained more importance with the emerging information age. These concerns motivated public policy debates addressing gender equality as computer applications exerted increasing influence in society...
of the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
, the Leadership Advisory Council of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology is a nonprofit organization founded by computer scientist Anita Borg. The institute’s primary aim is to recruit, retain, and advance women in technology. The institute’s most prominent program is the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing...
, and the Selection Committee for the Anita Borg Award for Technical Leadership. Chayes is a past Chair of the Mathematics Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, and a past Vice-President of the American Mathematical Society. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
Postdoctoral Fellowship, a Sloan Fellowship
Sloan Fellowship
The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This is distinct from the Sloan Fellows in business....
, and the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award. She is the co-author of almost 100 scientific papers and the co-inventor of more than 20 patents
.
Awards and honors
- National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Member (twice), Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- National Associate, National Academies
- Recipient, Sloan Fellowship
- Recipient, UCLA Distinguished Fellow
- Fellow, Association for Computing Machinery (2010)