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Blair
SULLIVAN

Computing - United States

Contact details

Email.
sullivan@cs.utah.edu
Personal Website.
https://sullivan.cs.utah.edu

Research topics

SCIENTIFIC PROJECT

"Bridging Theory and Practice: Advancing the Usability of Parameterized Algorithms for Network Analysis via Twin-Width and Graph Modification"


A major hurdle in large-scale network analysis is that most optimization problems are computationally intractable (NP-hard) on general graphs. Fortunately, real-world networks are far from generic and exhibit many shared structures -- e.g., social networks have clusters/communities, road networks tend to be almost planar, and biological networks are often tree-like. Theoretically, this structure should enable the design of efficient algorithms using tools from parameterized complexity. However, these approaches have historically failed to translate to practice due to unrealistically strong structural assumptions and challenges in implementation. This project aims to help bridge this theory-practice gap using the cross-cutting technique of graph modification alongside a new structural parameter (twin-width). To help achieve broad societal impact, initial efforts will focus on designing algorithms for specific problems in robotics, scientific computing, and algorithmic fairness.

 

Activities / Resume

BIOGRAPHY

Blair D. Sullivan is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Utah, and previously held positions at NC State and Oak Ridge National Lab. She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Princeton and completed her B.S. at Georgia Tech.