Samir M. Perlaza | Princeton University | Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research
I am interested in theoretical and practical aspects of game theory and information theory. The application domains that motivate my research include statistical machine learning, decision making, communication systems, and electric power systems.
Selected Research Areas
Statistical Empirical Risk Minimization and Generalization Capabilities of Machine Learning Algorithms
I am interested in the empirical risk minimization (ERM) problem when the optimization domain is a given set of probability measures over the set of models. A solution to this problem is a probability measure from which models can be sampled from to perform a machine learning task, e.g., a classification or a regression. A popular probability measure that arises from the ERM, subject to particular regularizations, is the Gibbs probability measure, which leads to the well-known Gibbs algorithm in statistical machine learning. The key challenge in this problem is the inclusion of previous knowledge about the models via regularizations of the ERM to enhance the generalization capabilities of machine learning algorithms. My research focuses on the study of the statistical properties of the random variables representing the training loss and test loss, when models are sampled from probability measures that are solutions to ERM problems subject to particular regularizations. The main feature of this research effort is that contrary to the main stream in the community, this analysis is made for fixed training datasets, which provides new and insightful mathematical tools for the analysis of generalization capabilities of machine learning algorithms.
Machine Learning and Decision Making with Noisy Observations
Recently, we have introduced a new formulation of zero-sum games (ZSG), which is particularly suited for studying decision making problems in which decision makers observe each other decisions subject to some degree of distorsion. Such a distorsion is modelled using the notion of channel, as in the realm of information theory. This provide the flexibility to consider effects such as quantization due to data acquisition via digital systems, additive noise due to privacy concerns, etc. Under these conditions, we have shown that the equilibrium of this game always exists and is often different from the Nash and Stackelberg equilibria. My research focuses on the analysis of the efect of the channel in the behavior of the decision makers. More specifically, my objective is to quantify, using information measures, the benefit or the loss for a given player due the distorsion in its observations.
Selected (Recent) Results:
Teaching
Academic Appointments
Permanent Member of the Scientific Staff, INRIA, Sophia Antipolis, France. Jan. 2020 - present
Visiting Research Collaborator, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, Jan. 2013 - present
Associate Researcher, Université de la Polynésie Française, Laboratoire de Géométrie Algébrique et Applications à la Théorie de l’Information (GAATI), Faaa, French Polynesia, May 2021 - present
Permanent Member of the Scientific Staff, INRIA, Lyon, France. Dec. 2013 - Jan. 2020
Postdoctoral Associate, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, Jan. 2012 - Dec. 2013
Postdoctoral Associate, Alcatel-Lucent Chair at Supélec, Orsay, France. Jul. 2011 - Dec. 2011
Research Engineer, France Télécom - Orange, Issy les Moulineaux, France, Jan. 2008 - Jan. 2011
Education
HDR, Université de Lyon I and INSA de Lyon, France, 2021
Ph.D., Télécom ParisTech, Paris, France, 2011
MSc., EURECOM, Sophia Antipolis, France, 2007
BSc. Universidad del Cauca, Popayán, Colombia, 2005
Editorial Boards
Editor, IEEE Transactions on Communications, 2017 - 2022
Editor, IET Smart Grids, 2018 - 2021
Associate Editor, Frontiers in Communications and Networks, 2020 - 2022
Guest Editor of the IEEE Internet of Things Journal, Special Issue on ‘‘Artificial Intelligence Powered Edge Computing for the Internet of Things’’, 2020
International Research Projects
Acknowledgments and Awards
City Council Agreement No. 028 of 1999 to create the award “Ciudad de los Samanes - Samir Alberto Medina Perlaza” in Santander de Quilichao, Colombia. This award is given to the top-ranked students in the national exams to access higher education in a ceremony held every year at the City Hall since 1999.
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