Vishal Gupta

Biography

Vishal Gupta is an Associate Professor of Data Sciences and Operations at the USC Marshall School of Business and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Industrial &Systems Engineering at USC Viterbi. Before joining USC, Vishal Gupta completed his B.A. in Mathematics and Philosophy at Yale University, graduating Magna Cum Laude with honors, and completed Part III of the Mathematics Tripos at the University of Cambridge with distinction. He then spent four years working as a “quant” in finance at Barclays Capital, focusing on commodities modeling, derivatives pricing, and risk management. Eventually, Vishal realized how much he missed working towards a larger mission of impact, and left the private sector to complete his Ph.D. in Operations Research at MIT in 2014.

Vishal’s research focuses on data-driven decision-making and optimization, particularly in settings where data are scarce. Such settings are common in applications that rely on personalization (like precision healthcare) and real-time decision-making (like risk management). Consequently, his research spans a wide variety of areas including revenue management, education, healthcare, and artificial intelligence. Vishal has received a number of recognitions for his work, including the Wagner Prize for Excellence in the Practice of Advanced Analytics and Operations Research, the Pierskalla Best Paper Prize, and the Jagdish Sheth Impact of Research on Practice Award. His work has also been featured in a variety popular news media.