Meet the Fellow: Ilias Zadik
Ilias Zadik started as a Faculty Fellow at CDS in September 2019. He comes from MIT where he studied high dimensional statistics, machine learning and operations research. Prior to MIT he studied Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. As part of an ongoing series of Q&A’s with CDS Faculty Fellows, CDS Operations team member, Colton Laferriere, talked to Zadik about his experiences at the Center for Data Science.
The following was lightly edited for clarity.
CL: My first question is what brought you to CDS and your studies?
IZ: So I was doing my PhD at MIT, I finished this September. I’m working in this area which is, I would say, the intersection of high dimensional statistics and machine learning, and also certain inspiration comes from statistical physics. Three different topics and CDS has apparently people that are experts in all three. So I knew about CDS and NYU, and some people there. And then basically, it was, you know, just some advertisement that was forwarded to me. And then my advisor also said give it a shot and thankfully it worked out. I came to give a talk. I really liked the place.
CL: Your advisor at MIT actually pointed you in the direction of CDS.
IZ: Yes. Yes, exactly. He told me about an opening at NYU. And then I mean he suggested I look at it. But he didn’t make the decision for me, you know. But yeah, exactly.
CL: And so, how has the change and transition from being an MIT to being an NYU been for you?
IZ: Yeah. So far so good. I mean it’s a very welcoming environment which I really like and I’m independent now, as a Fellow. NYU has been really smooth during this transition, and collaborations are quite easy and people are open, which is very nice. It’s a very nice place.
CL: I used to live in Boston. It’s very different here [in New York City.]
IZ: So yeah, if you talk about Boston and New York, that’s different. It’s very different; the intensity of the cities is very different. Right.
CL: So when it comes to your research, what drew you to that in the beginning of your academic life?
IZ: So always in my academic life I’ve enjoyed mathematics. And so then, I did my undergraduate studies mostly in mathematics, and my master studies. And then I just wanted to connect it with a real word more. So, I mean, the data science and machine learning aspect of it came from the fact that [data scientists] kind of required some mathematicians and people with mathematical background to sort of get into [the field] and try to build the foundations behind the empirical observations they made. This is sort of what really attracted me to the field. And then, it’s a little bit of the hype. Right? You know, like in my graduate studies it was like “the big thing.”
CL: Yeah, I think it’s like one of the, for lack of a better word, “trendy” areas of study.
IZ: Yes, yeah. I feel like people, people like me, with a mathematical background there’s room for us to push for the maximum contribution and help the data science community.
CL: Circling back to the CDS, you mentioned the collaboration. The collaborative sort of atmosphere, it is that your favorite thing about being in CDS or is there something else up there?
IZ: I mean, you know, one of my favorite parts about the position is the freedom. With this freedom you get to build yourself as a researcher, which is very nice, you know, after you’re done with your PhD. And I also like that there are so many seminars. That’s something I really enjoy and I learn a lot of different things from them. This has also been the case [at MIT] though, to be fair in my grad school. I mean you’re comparing MIT to NYU which are both already at the top. I cannot ask for more than an accumulation of very strong people and open collaborations.
