Alexander Rakhlin named director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center
An expert in machine learning, statistics, and computation, Rakhlin succeeds Professor Ankur Moitra. Alexander 'Sasha' Rakhlin, the Distinguished Professor in Data, Systems, and Society, IDSS and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, has been named the next director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society Publication Date : August 3, 2026 Press Inquiries Press Contact : Amanda Diehl Email: diehl@mit.
Key Takeaways
- edu MIT Schwazman College of Computing : Alexander "Sasha" Rakhlin is the next director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center.
Rakhlin is also a professor of brain and cognitive sciences and the inaugural holder of the Distinguished Professorship in Data, Systems, and Society, an endowed chair created in 2025 by the generosity and vision of IDSS professor Richard "Dick" Larson.
- Rakhlin succeeds Ankur Moitra, the Norbert Wiener Professor of Mathematics, associate director of the IDSS, and a faculty member in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) who has been SDSC director since 2021.
Philippe Rigollet, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and a core faculty member in IDSS, also served as interim director in 2024-25.
- " Rakhlin is the inaugural holder of the Distinguished Professorship in Data, Systems, and Society, an endowed chair created in 2025 by the generosity and vision of IDSS professor Richard "Dick" Larson, an "MIT lifer" and pioneer in operations research, queueing theory, and system optimization.
- " Rakhlin has been connected to the Statistics and Data Science Center as a visiting professor since 2016, before formally joining MIT in 2018 in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and IDSS.
As the initial chair of the Interdisciplinary PhD in Statistics program at the SDSC, Rakhlin has seen the successful defense of over 75 IDPS PhD students across a variety of departments at MIT, including IDSS' own Social and Engineering Systems program.
- Answering them demands a rigorous science of the tools themselves.
Alexander 'Sasha' Rakhlin, the Distinguished Professor in Data, Systems, and Society, IDSS and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, has been named the next director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center. An expert in machine learning, statistics, and computation, Rakhlin succeeds Professor Ankur Moitra. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society Publication Date : August 3, 2026 Press Inquiries Press Contact : Amanda Diehl Email: diehl@mit.
edu MIT Schwazman College of Computing : Alexander "Sasha" Rakhlin is the next director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center. Rakhlin is also a professor of brain and cognitive sciences and the inaugural holder of the Distinguished Professorship in Data, Systems, and Society, an endowed chair created in 2025 by the generosity and vision of IDSS professor Richard "Dick" Larson. Credits : Photo courtesy of the subject.
Previous image Next image Alexander "Sasha" Rakhlin PhD '06, the Distinguished Professor in Data, Systems, and Society at the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS); and a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, has been named the next director of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center (SDSC). Rakhlin succeeds Ankur Moitra, the Norbert Wiener Professor of Mathematics, associate director of the IDSS, and a faculty member in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) who has been SDSC director since 2021. Philippe Rigollet, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and a core faculty member in IDSS, also served as interim director in 2024-25.
For more details please read the original article at MIT News AI.
Continue Learning
Comments
Sign in to join the conversation