Alexander Rakhlin named director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center

Alexander “Sasha” Rakhlin has been named director of MIT’s Statistics and Data Science Center, succeeding Ankur Moitra, who led the center since 2021. Rakhlin is a Distinguished Professor in Data, Systems, and Society at MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society and a professor of brain and cognitive sciences. A machine learning and statistics researcher, he previously chaired the center’s Interdisciplinary PhD in Statistics program, where more than 75 students have defended dissertations. He said he plans to strengthen the center’s interdisciplinary connections and support research on the statistical and mathematical foundations of data science and AI, including questions of uncertainty, safety, security, and reliability.