Long Nguyen

Professor of Statistics, Department of Statistics, University of Michigan

Other affiliations:
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (by courtesy)
Faculty member, Michigan Institute for Data Science
Long-term member, Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics

Email: xuanlong@umich.edu
Office: 461 West Hall, Phone: 734-763-3499, Fax: 734-763-4676

Mail Address: 439 West Hall, 1085 South University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107

[Research] [Teaching] [Students] [Publications] [Biography]

Prospective PhD students: Please consider applying to Michigan and thank you for your interest. I apologize if you have not received my response to your enquiry about the program. Admission decision is made a graduate admissions committee, please see this link for further information.

Research interests

Synopsis: Statistical inference and learning is the computational process of turning data into statistics, prediction and understanding. I work with richly structured data, such as those extracted from texts, images and other spatiotemporal signals.

I am particularly interested in a field in statistics known as Bayesian nonparametrics, which provides a fertile and powerful mathematical framework for the development of many computational and statistical modeling ideas. The spirit of Bayesian nonparametric statistics is to enable the kind of inferential procedures according to which both the statistical modeling and computational complexity may adapt to increasingly large and complex data patterns in a probabilistically graceful and effective way. In this framework, stochastic processes and random measures, along with latent variable models such as mixture, hierarchical and graphical models figure prominently. In addition, my students and I seek to understand the interaction between statistical inference and the theory of optimal transport that arises naturally in the learning of complex hierarchical models and spatiotemporal and functional patterns.

My motivation for all this came originally from an early and sustained interest in machine learning. A primary focus in our machine learning research is to develop more effective inference algorithms using variational, stochastic and geometric viewpoints.

Editorial boards (past or current)

My Vietnamese name is Nguyễn Xuân Long. Therefore, "XuanLong Nguyen" is used in my English publications. Furthermore, the first name is Long for short.

Students [selfie in deserted Niagara Falls in November'16] [on a Phở day, March 2018] [@Ashley's] [in the time of COVID-19, May 2020] [finally in-person, on Huron river, on a beautiful day of September 2021]

Former PhD students and postdocs Master's students Undergraduate honor thesis advisees Visitors

Some (not so up-to-date) collaborative projects and links

Selected talk slides