I am a postdoctoral researcher working with Stephen J. Wright at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. I completed my PhD in Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL in 2021. I received my undergraduate degree from Bilkent University in 2016.
My research interests are in optimization, machine learning and reinforcement learning. I especially focus on understanding the theoretical properties of practical optimization algorithms and improving them.
Email: alacaoglu at math dot ubc dot ca, alacaoglu at wisc dot edu
News: Starting from Summer 2024, I will be an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of British Columbia, as part of the AI Methods for Scientific Impact (AIM-SI) cluster.
Prospective students: If you are interested in the graduate programs at UBC and want to work with me, feel free to apply and send me an email. To learn about the activities at UBC on ML/AI, data science and applied mathematics, check out CAIDA, MILD, DSI and IAM.