Chen Cheng Google Scholar CV Publications
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics
Faculty Affiliate, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
Core Member, NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI Institute)
Welcome!
My research studies foundational problems in modern machine learning and statistics:
- How does overparameterization shape fitting and prediction?
- How to define and what determines optimal generalization?
- How do iterative and dynamic procedures shape learning?
- How to calibrate predictions and quantify uncertainty under above considerations?
Overparameterized models connect to calibration and uncertainty quantification, interpolation and generalization, and iterative procedures. Iterative procedures also connect to calibration and uncertainty quantification and to interpolation and generalization. There is no direct connection between the two side themes.
- Overparameterized models Neural networks · LLM · Geometry
- Calibration
Uncertainty quantification Conformal prediction · Alignment - Interpolation
Generalization Optimality · Robustness - Iterative procedures First-order methods · Interactive environment
To address these questions, I develop and use tools from high-dimensional probability and statistics, random matrix theory, information theory, optimization, and the analysis of iterative algorithms.
In a nutshell, it is always about:
\[y = f_\theta(X; \epsilon) \in \mathbb{R}^n, \qquad X \in \mathbb{R}^{n \times d}, \qquad \theta \in \Theta.\]But at least one of the above is unusual — Explore my research themes above!
Contact
chcheng (at) illinois (dot) edu
Bio
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to that, I was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Statistics at the University of Chicago, mentored by Professor Rina Foygel Barber, and completed my PhD in Statistics at Stanford University, jointly advised by Professor John Duchi and Andrea Montanari. I was a recipient of the William R. Hewlett Stanford Graduate Fellowship. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Computational Mathematics from Peking University.
Employment
- Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2026.8 – Current
- Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Statistics, University of Chicago, 2025.8 – 2026.8
- Research Intern, LinkedIn Corporation, 2023.6 – 2023.9
Education
- Ph.D. in Statistics, Stanford University, 2019.9 – 2025.6
- B.S. in Mathematics, Peking University, 2015.9 – 2019.6